Officer suspended for not stopping partner’s actions

Constable reprimanded for notorious arrest made by ‘Agent 728’ in 2012

A Montreal police officer with 10 years of experience has been ordered suspended for two days without pay for not intervening to stop his partner’s professional misconduct during a now-notorious arrest in 2012.

In a ruling issued Sept. 29, Quebec’s police ethics committee imposed the sanction on Const. Constantinos Samaras after hearing testimony on his conduct and that of Const. Stéfanie Trudeau, also known as “Agent 728” after videos of other violent arrests became internet sensations.

The incident involving Samaras occurred in May 2012 and began when he and Trudeau issued a ticket to a cyclist around 2:30 a.m. at the corner of Mont-Royal Ave. E and de la Roche St.

Julian Menezes and two companions saw the ticket being issued and, when Trudeau told them to move along, said they only wanted to witness it.

Menezes told the committee that when the group didn’t move away after a second warning, Trudeau tackled and handcuffed him and, with Samaras’s aid, threw him in the back of their squad car.

Menezes said his ankle was injured while he was being placed in the police car and he suffered injuries to his face as Trudeau drove around the area, speeding up and then slamming on the brakes so his face would hit the Plexiglas divider between the front and back seats.

When Menezes produced identification, Samaras, reading his name, asked if it was of Portuguese origin. Menezes, who is of South Asian origin, told the committee that Trudeau quickly interjected and said, “No, he’s a f---ing Indian.”

The officers later left Menezes in a parking lot with no money for a taxi and a $146 ticket for refusing to obey a peace officer.

In sanctioning Samaras, the committee noted he had no previous ethics citations and that he had made it clear he had learned from the experience of that night.

Trudeau, convicted of assault in an unrelated arrest, is no longer a police officer.