Police officer investigated for ramming car

CTV Montreal: Road rage incident caught on video The crown prosecutor will decide whether charges should be laid against a Montreal police officer involved in a road rage incident.

The Crown prosecutor's office is deciding whether to press charges against an off-duty Montreal police officer who used his SUV to ram another car.

The event happened in January 2015, and the story is somewhat convoluted.

Early in the morning of Jan. 15, 2015, Montreal police arrested a driver in LaSalle, telling CTV Montreal the man had hit the personal car of an off-duty police officer on Des Oblats St. and then fled the scene.

Police said at the time that the off-duty officer noted the licence plate of the other car, and so police were able to track down the driver.

He was arrested for a hit and run, but it does not appear he was ever charged.

But now, a surveillance video showing what led to that arrest has been made public.

The video, taken from a camera on Des Oblats St. around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2015 shows an off-duty Montreal police officer driving a light-coloured SUV pulling into a parking spot.

The officer, wearing camouflage pants and a dark jacket, then gets out of his SUV and talks to another driver who has parked his car nearby.

Following several minutes of discussion both men return to their vehicles , and the second driver pulls behind the SUV.

At this point the off-duty officer puts his SUV into reverse and rams the other car, then drives forward slightly and rams the other car a second time.

The video shows the other car then leaving the scene while the off-duty officer follows in his SUV.

In a post on an anti-police brutality website, Jeffery Pokora says he is the driver who was hit.

Pokora said he followed the SUV because he spotted that driver going through a stop sign and speeding recklessly, thus cutting him off. Pokora wrote he followed the driver until he stopped, then asked him why he was driving so carelessly.

According to Pokora the officer then yelled at him and poked him several times with his finger until Pokora returned to his car.

Pokora said he called 9-1-1 and asked police for assistance, then moved his car out of the middle of the street and blocked the SUV -- at which point he was rammed.

Pokora wrote that his car was hit several times, and that he drove off, calling 9-1-1 once again to report he was being attacked, and remained on the phone with 9-1-1 until meeting police officers at the corner of du Musee Rd. and St. Joseph Blvd.

Late Friday afternoon, Pokora’s lawyer contacted CTV to say Pokora will appear in court Jan. 21 for uttering threats and intimidation in connection with the case.

Montreal police commander Ian Lafreniere confirmed the video was given to police by the officer involved.

"It's the officer himself that submitted the video because it explains what happened. He'd been followed by someone. He called 9-1-1 because he feared for his life, and you see the result of what happened," said Lafreniere.

The commander said police investigated the matter, including examining the video, and then handed the matter to the Crown.

He added the video does not show everything that took place.

"The off-duty officer had been following the suspect. As we had more officers from Station 13 that were chasing that person, that suspect, a call was made by the off-duty officer for backup, and yes the person was apprehended," said Lafreniere.

Lafreniere said he couldn't say much more about the case because he did not want to jeopardize a possible court case.

"At this moment this officer is still an employee of the Montreal police, and he's not suspended, and we have no reason to do that," said Lafreniere.