Montreal police open probe after honking driver pepper-sprayed

Montreal police opened an internal investigation after a widely shared video showed an officer pepper-spraying a black driver liberally in the face over alleged excessive honking.

Several bystanders, including one who was filming the man’s arrest, were also sprayed during the same incident by another officer early Sunday morning with downtown streets heavily congested because of F1-related festivities.

The investigation launched Monday is into the action of both officers.

A short video of the incident was shared on Facebook and garnered a few hundred thousand views before being taken down.

Ian Lafreniere, the head of communications for the Montreal police, said an internal affairs probe will examine what happened.

“There’s a lack of information, so we’re not taking any chances,” Lafreniere said in an interview.

On the video, the unidentified driver can be heard claiming racism and questioning why he’s being arrested for honking his horn.

“For honking?,” he shouts in French as he is handcuffed and others in the video note he isn’t the only driver leaning on his horn.

Police said officers told the driver several times to not honk his horn so crowds wouldn’t be revved up.

They say he subsequently refused to provide his licence when asked to do so.

The man’s car can also be seen in the video lurching forward, allegedly striking a police officer’s bicycle in its path before the arrest.

Lafreniere said the situation quickly became quite tense and the officers involved in the arrest asked for “urgent backup” on two occasions.