Watch: Part 1 of 2 – Police intercept boy with toy gun
MONTREAL – Elias Pyrros is still in shock after his recent run-in with police.
The 11-year-old boy was playing with a toy gun in broad daylight in an alley in the Mile End neighbourhood of Montreal when someone spotted him and called 911.
Within minutes, five police cars arrived and all officers had their guns pointed directly at him.
“They told me to freeze in French and come here, so I put my hands up,” said Pyrros.
“I was really scared.”
His mother is convinced he would have lost his life that day had he reacted differently.
“If he didn’t freeze and didn’t do what they said, they would have shot my child,” said Eva Drakos, who insists the officers violated her son’s rights.
Elias had put black tape over his toy gun to make it look more authentic.
He insisted that he never pointed it in anyone’s direction.
His mother is mostly upset about the fact that the officers still handcuffed him and put him in the back of the police car for 20 minutes, after knowing it was a plastic pistol.
“They wouldn’t let me go near my child. He didn’t do anything wrong. I’m outraged, I’m furious that this could happen to an innocent 11-year-old child,” said Drakos.
The sixth grader is now having trouble sleeping at night and has missed a few days of school since the incident.
“I can’t concentrate, I always think about when they were pointing guns at me,” said Pyrros.
His parents are now planning to file a complaint with the police ethics commission.
They’re meeting with constitutional lawyer Julius Grey later this week, hoping to find justice.
His mother would like an apology at the very least, and she worries the damage is done.
“My child will never be the same. He will carry this for the rest of his life,” said Drakos.
“He will not know who to call when he needs protection.”
Tune in for Part 2 on Thursday when Montreal police share their version of what happened when an 11-yr-old was spotted playing with a toy gun.
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