Montreal Metro users were witness to a violent altercation inside the Fabre station on the blue line, leaving three police officers injured.
Jean-Pierre Brabant, spokesperson with Montreal police, explained they responded to a 911 call Wednesday about reports of a man who was stopping cars on the street in front of the Metro station.
“He was punching cars, being really aggressive towards people,” he told Global News.
“At one point, he opened the door of a vehicle and tried to get in, but the people left.”
When officers arrived at the scene, the 26-year-old man had entered the Metro. They followed him in.
A video, shot by onlooker Yassine Naguib and posted to Facebook, shows five Montreal police officers in the middle of their altercation with the man.
“Shut up. I’m going to taser you,” one officer yelled as the man lashes out, punching one of them in the face.
Onlookers riding the Metro quickly moved out of the way as the man ran into the car, chased by several cops.
He stumbled back out onto the platform before falling to the ground.
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As the officers jumped on the man to pin him down, the sound of a taser can be heard for almost 30 seconds.
As the man cried out, someone — presumably the person taking the video — can be heard saying, “It’s abuse, it’s abuse.”
“He was intoxicated and telling officers to F off,” Brabant told Global News.
“He’s six-foot-three, 250 pounds. He’s a big boy. It was hard to control.”
Brabant confirmed officers used their batons and pepper spray before ultimately using a taser.
“When a taser is used, we have to use it until the person is under control for the safety of the officers,” he told Global News.
“We didn’t want him to go into the Metro. We didn’t want him to hurt anyone.”
The man was arrested and is expected to face charges of assault on a police officer, obstruction of justice and armed assault — police say he attempted to hit them with a beer bottle that was in his hand.
The 26-year-old was also taken to hospital to be evaluated.
Brabant confirmed that the man was known to police.
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