A Quebec judge released video Thursday night filed as evidence in the trial
of a Gatineau police officer accused of assaulting an inmate in a jail cell last
year.
Sgt. François Metlej is on trial for assault in connection with a April 15,
2010, incident in a cell at a police station on Greber Boulevard in
Gatineau.
The video shows Leslie Bayard-Aikman, 22, being brought into a cell and
having her handcuffs removed. As officers start to leave the cell, one returns
and appears to punch the woman.
The court heard that as Metlej and other officers started to leave the cell,
Bayard-Aikman spat towards them and Metlej responded by punching her.The April 2010 Gatineau incident began when Bayard-Aikman's girlfriend called
police to say Bayard-Aikman was beating her. She was charged with assaulting the
other woman, but was acquitted.
Lawyers for both the prosecution and defence had argued against releasing the
video, but Judge Valmont Beaulieu agreed with a request from Radio-Canada and
the Ottawa French-language daily Le Droit, saying it was in the public interest.