Assault trial begins for 'Officer 728', Stfanie Trudeau

Suspended Montreal police officer Stfanie Trudeau will be attempting to obtain a stay of proceedings as her trial for assault begins today.

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Trudeau, also known as Officer 728, is accused of using excessive force in arresting Serge Lavoie after she pulled him aside for drinking a beer outside his residence on Oct. 2, 2012. She was suspended from the force shortly after.

The trial began with the Crown showing a series of five short videos from the night of the arrest.

The judge in the case said he would listen toall the Crown's evidencebefore hearing Trudeau's requestfor astay of proceedings.

Trudeau's lawyer Jean-Pierre Rancourt accused Crown prosecutors of cutting a deal with the four people charged the night of Lavoie's arrest in exchange for their statements incriminating Trudeau.

The Crown dropped charges ofobstructionofjusticeagainst Lavoie, Simon Pag, Karen MolinaandRudi Ochietti in March 2013.

One year later, the Crown filed assault charges againstTrudeau.

Rancourt claimed that after a two-month investigation in November 2012, during which timeinvestigators took 25 statements and interviewed more than 80 witnesses, there was not enough evidence to charge Trudeau.

In late 2014, the Crown agreed to try Trudeau by summary trial rather than as an indictable offencea move which both reduces the charge and gives Trudeau an expedited trial.

If found guilty,Trudeau now faces the possibility of six months in jail, rather than the maximum sentence offive years she was initially facing.