Police violence – November 22, 2024 demonstration against NATO and the genocide in Palestine, in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. During dangerous and brutal dispersal, @spvmpolice officers injured several protesters, at least 4 of whom had to be evacuated by ambulance. Among the injured, one protester was hit in the head and suffered serious injuries to his forehead that required stitches in the emergency room. While the injured protester was in shock and waiting for the ambulance with a group of first responders and protesters who were assisting him, riot police brutally assaulted them to force them to move. In this video filmed by the spokesperson for the Divest for Palestine collective, we see the protesters calmly explaining the situation and the instructions from the paramedics to stay put. He is then seen being violently pushed back by a police officer, who hits him in the hand with a baton, snatching his phone, before throwing him to the ground and breaking it.
SPVM assault people at NATO protest
I had been walking around non-protesters so for all the cops knew I was just a civilian. I was met by a line of riot cops and they received orders from a higher up and started banging rhythmically on theur sheilds towards me. I didnt notice at this time but I guess a group of protesters had run past me. I thought they would see I just got caught in the middle so I asked one cop if I could just get past because I wasnt part of the group and he said go this way meaning the way the cops were walking anf the way the protesters had ran. I thought he could tell I wasbt part of the group at that point and he just wanted to me to leave that way so fine I thought and I just started walking. All of a sudden bike cops come down the hill in font of me and im caugjt with the group of protesters in between bike cops and riot cops. I didnt see how it started but protesters and bike cops started fighting and I was right in the middle with no way to escape and I didnt want any part in the violence so I leaned myself up agaisnt the wall and started filming the (extremely unecessarily violent) arrests take place. I only got about 5 seconds of video when a lady cop shoved me to the ground I guess because I was filming. I was so shocked. I hadnt done anything except film. She kept telli me to go but everytime she did she would pick me up off the ground and throw me back down. She did his probably 5 times. Eventually I stopped trying to get up and 2 other cops came over. I asked if she would let me go and she did but she shoved me out of the crowd as she did. I then had a panic attack.
John Doe
Bystander