Assault charge against Quebec City police officer dropped after 2-year battle

Weeks after being acquitted of one assault charge, a second assault charge against Quebec City police officer Jacob Picard has been dropped.

The 29-year-old officer with the Service de police de la Ville de Qubec (SPVQ) will not stand trial for the event that took place on Grande-Alle Street in Quebec City in October 2021. He was accused of assault after he allegedly threateneda man with an irritant gas canister before pushing him onto a patrol car.

On Thursday, Franois Doyon-Gascon, prosecutor with the DPCP, Quebec's prosecution office, said new elements have led them to re-evaluate their position.

"The information we received wasn't available when the case started," said Doyon-Gascon.

"Following this information there is a decision that is taken. It's not easy. It's to instead leave the police ethics commissioner to do an investigation."

Doyon-Gascon says he's unsure if the commissioner hasdecided to investigate.

Picard pleaded not guilty to the assault charges in 2022 and had been challenging their validity for nearly two years.

The officer's lawyer, Ariane Gagnon-Rocque, said Picard is "extremely pleased" to have finally been cleared of all criminal charges against him.

In a written statement, she said the DPCP studied the events involving Picard which circulated on social networks but chose to only lay criminal charges related to two incidents.

"We must never lose sight of the fact that police work is demanding, and that those who perform it must react quickly to dynamic situations that are potentially dangerous to themselves and to the public," read Gagnon-Rocque's statement.

On July 19, Picard was found not guilty of assault in connection with the arrest of a man in a Quebec City bar in the fall of 2021.

Picard was facing charges of assault causing bodily harm against Mathieu Gamache, who had refused the officer's request to wear his mask, which was mandatory at the time.

The events took place on the evening of Oct. 16, 2021, at the District bar on St-Joseph Street in Quebec City, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, Judge Rachel Gagnon stated that the plaintiff's memories were fragmented and his statements contradictory. She said Picard showed proof of "rigorous but not excessive or unreasonable force."