Journalist unimpressed by Laval police apology over 'deplorable' language

CTV Montreal: Journalism commission Radio reporter Monic Neron said she was not impressed with the apology made by the Laval police force.

Montreal radio reporter Monic Neron said she was not impressed with the apology made by the Laval police force.

She made that statement  Friday as the Chamberland Commission continued investigating how police were monitoring journalists in an attempt to discover which police officers were talking to reporters about confidential cases.

Neron, a reporter for 98.5FM, was one of the journalists being watched and monitored by police because of a scoop she reported in 2014, when Laval police arrested three people including a firefighter on drug charges.

Police had been investigating the case for months, and before they could publicize the arrests, Neron was reporting them on the radio in great detail.

Neron testified that police were furious and called her.

“What did you do?” she said they asked her.

Neron had been tipped off by an investigator.

Laval police decided to get a warrant to obtain records of Neron's text messages after an officer admitted to superiors that he gave her information in a futile attempt to seduce her.

In an affidavit used to obtain a warrant, Laval police Sgt. Hugues Goupil wrote the officer in question was "thinking with his penis" because he "wanted to f*** the reporter."

Neron was shocked to learn about both the warrant, its crude language, and to learn that an officer was lusting after her, saying she found it deplorable that any officer who respects the work of journalists and above all, women, would write that.

“The behaviour of certain police officers hurts the reputation of other police officers who respect journalists and their work,” she said.

The Laval police force issued a statement saying, "They regret that members of the media felt offended by the info in the affidavits."

Neron said that was not a very good apology, and said she believes Laval police made the statement because they felt required to.

Meantime, the Sureté du Quebec captain who leads the force's media relations department said he could never condone using false information to try and find a police officer leaking information.

Guy Lapointe told the Chamberland Commission on Friday that doing so would destroy his credibility.

He was questioned about this tactic after Montreal police chief Philippe Pichet told the inquiry that it was a tactic he had considered and would support.

Pichet said he would also be willing to deny being the source of false information if it was reported.

Lapointe said he could never do such a thing because it would taint the trustworthiness of the SQ.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and one of his chief strategists are expected to testify before the commission on Monday.