They would have pretended to execute him: the homeless person hounded by the lawyer of one of the police officers

The homeless man who allegedly suffered a mock execution by police officers in downtown Montreal was hounded hard by the defense during his cross-examination where he was reminded of his criminal history.

• Read also: Trial 12 years later: these two police officers allegedly pretended to execute a homeless man

“I am not a career criminal, it is consumption [de drogue] who pushes me to commit crimes, that’s how it is, ”dropped Tobie-Charles Angers-Levasseur, this Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.

It is that after telling how the police officers Pierre-Luc Furlotte and Patrick Guay would have mistreated him in March 2010, he was this time cross-examined by the defense which did not fail to attack his credibility.

petty theft

Thefts, misdeeds, breach of probation, possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking. Since he was an adult, the homeless person has had a long criminal record, noted Me Michel Massicotte.

“I have committed crimes, but not during the period in question [en 2010], conceded Mr. Angers-Levasseur. I was begging to buy drugs, and if buying them on the street is a crime, then I’ve been a criminal since I was a teenager. I did it yesterday, when I got some drugs on the street. »

But the itinerant is formal, all his testimony on Monday, at the trial of police officers Furlotte and Guay, is true. He claimed he was arrested for throwing a shrub down the street in downtown Montreal, only to be insulted by patrol officers. Furlotte and Guay would then have taken him to the other end of town, handcuffed and with a plastic bag over his head, to then simulate his execution with their service pistol.

The two officers, who are charged with forcible confinement, assault and threats, have both pleaded not guilty.

Memory tested

But after pointing out the traveler’s criminal history, the defense then got busy going after the details of the different versions given to investigators over time.

“During my video statement to the police, I was in heroin withdrawal, I had not slept for several weeks, explained Mr. Angers-Levasseur. I made mistakes on dates, I had done the best I could. »

The trial, before Judge Geneviève Graton, is warned for two weeks.

In addition to attacking the credibility of the homeless, the defense is also betting on a motion for a stay of proceedings, in connection with the way in which the investigation against Guay and Furlotte was conducted.