It was a beautiful summer Friday afternoon when one teenager, whose identity Global News is protecting, said she was walking to her best friend’s house in the borough of Outremont.
It’s a 20-minute walk from her house and one she’s done hundreds of times before, she said.
But on this walk, she said she was stopped by a car near the intersection of St-Viateur Avenue and Durocher Avenue.
“All of a sudden, a man pulls over and says he’s the police, I’m (a) suspect for selling drugs, and that he needed to arrest me,” she said.
She stopped, pulled out her headphones, and asked him what he was referring to, but he dismissed her, she said.
“Right away, he handcuffs me and I just say, ‘Oh, can I call my parents before?’ and he was like, ‘No, in the car.'”
Once in the vehicle, she alleges, he proceeded to blindfold her.
“And at this point, I knew, like, something was up, this was not right.”
So she started to scream — the loudest she said she’s ever screamed.
“My throat still hurts from screaming so loud.”
Once she felt the car come to a stop, she said she tried to escape the back seat.
“He was holding me back — like all my clothes are ripped — I had to kick him and scream he was holding me down.”
But the door was unlocked and she was able to fall out onto the street, she said.
Since the incident happened in broad daylight, many witnesses came to help her, she said.
One witness was even able to take a photo of the suspect’s licence plate as he sped off.
Saint-Jérôme police said they were able to arrest the man hours later, and he was transferred to Montreal.
Montreal police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron said the suspect appeared in court on Saturday and will remain detained until the next court date on Aug. 20.
“Impersonating a police officer, kidnapping, probably assault — it’s all kind of charges that will be laid against the suspect in that case,” Bergeron said.
The victim’s mother said she couldn’t be prouder of her daughter and told her — “you did all the right things.”
But she says there needs to be more education in schools about what to do if other minors are placed in similar scenarios.
While Bergeron credits the young girl for acting quickly, he says there are ways to determine if someone is a police officer.
“You can always ask for the police identification,” he said.
Through her experience, she learned a valuable lesson, one she said, sadly, many girls should know — be aware of your surroundings and defend yourself when necessary.
“If I wouldn’t have acted quick, and if I wouldn’t have had such a rush and been able to kick him and, you know, stand up for myself, … I don’t know where I would be right now,” said the young girl.