A Montreal man who was charged with obstructing a peace officer says the charge was withdrawn after an online video allegedly contradicted the police officers’ version of the events. The allegation appears in a civil lawsuit filed by Daniel Bercovici, 47, who is suing Montreal police for $86,301 in compensatory and punitive damages after his arrest last year at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, an international cycling tournament. Bercovici was there as a peaceful spectator, holding the Israeli flag at the foot of Mount Royal to cheer for the Israel-Premier Tech team in the cycling tournament, according to the lawsuit. A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators was also there for the event, on Sept. 14, 2025, to protest against the team’s participation in the event. In a social media post, the protesters accused Israel-Premier Tech of being “complicit with the genocidal entity” and engaging in “sportswashing,” a term used when an organization uses sports to improve its reputation and cover up its wrongdoings. Bercovici was confronted, without provocation, by Montreal police officers who took him to the ground, unlawfully searched and arrested him, and used “excessive force,” the lawsuit alleges. It also claims that demonstrators attempted to strike him with flagpoles as he was being escorted away. He was formally charged three days later and arraigned on Feb. 27, 2026. Then, on July 9, 2026, the prosecutor viewed a YouTube video obtained by the defence and photos of the plaintiff’s injuries. Charge withdrawn 10 months later On July 28, the prosecutor withdrew the charge against Bercovici, “stating expressly that it was doing so because of the video evidence provided by the defence,” according to the lawsuit. The Montreal resident is now seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages in the lawsuit filed in late August in Superior Court. It lists the City of Montreal and four Montreal police officers as defendants. The document says Bercovici obtained police records in which the officers allegedly accused him of “taunts, insults, aggressive brandishing of his flag, ignored warnings and ignored orders.” However, the court filing claims that the officers did not take notes of the arrest, and that the narrative in the police file was “written from memory, hours after the event.” The lawsuit claims that: “The interference with the Plaintiff’s rights was unlawful and intentional: the officers knew the Plaintiff had done nothing unlawful, intervened against him regardless, and then fabricated a justification after the fact.” None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court. ‘Who answers for that?’ “A police report is not a first draft. Prosecutors, courts and the public rely on it as an accurate account of what happened,” said Neil G. Oberman, a lawyer at Spiegel Ryan LLP who is representing the plaintiff, in a press release. “The application alleges that these reports were written hours later, from memory, and that the video contradicts them. Mr. Bercovici spent more than ten months defending a charge that was withdrawn because of that video. This lawsuit asks a simple question: who answers for that?” The video, which is still available on YouTube and was viewed by CTV News, shows a man wearing a tank top and backpack waving an Israeli flag as two police officers escort him away from pro-Palestinian protesters. The man backs away while still holding the flag upright before he is no longer visible in the crowd. His arrest by police does not appear in the four-minute video. The video also shows clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and other police officers behind the barriers. At one point, the footage shows a pro-Palestinian protester in handcuffs. The plaintiff suffered knee wounds, abrasions, and other physical injuries as a result of the arrest and he continues to suffer psychological injuries as well as “persistent distrust of law enforcement,” according to the lawsuit. In an email interview, Bercovici said the arrest was a “humiliating” experience. “I’m seeking accountability for what happened to me and justice for the harm I suffered. I went to a cycling race to support an Israeli team. I should have been able to do that peacefully and safely,” he wrote. Montreal police declined to comment on the lawsuit since the case is currently before the court. “Jewish expression, including the peaceful display of an Israeli flag, is entitled to the same protection as any other lawful expression,” said Benjamin Ryberg, a lawyer and chief operating officer at The Lawfare Project, a New York-based organization that advocates for the rights of members of the Jewish community through legal action. “The Lawfare Project is supporting this case because the answer to hostility toward that expression cannot be to silence or remove the person exercising those rights.”
