Flood fighter released on bail
Man held two days for defying police
The man arrested while delivering sandbags to a flooded section of the West Island was released on bail Thursday after agreeing to stay out of the Pierrefonds disaster zone.
Alain Furlano, 54, spent two days in a detention centre for allegedly refusing to obey police orders in a flooded section of Pierrefonds this week. During his first bail hearing on Wednesday, he refused to accept conditions that would bar him from re-entering the affected area.
That act of defiance cost him a second night behind bars. Even so, Furlano remained combative during his second court appearance.
“I’m a human being ... of flesh and bone,” said Furlano, who represented himself in court. “I’ve been kept in silence for 48 hours. ... I need to get out and help these people.”
At the peak of the flooding earlier this week, Furlano was on the front lines, helping keep the rising water from consuming his mother’s home. He gave a water pump to a neighbour in need and had been working non-stop to assist residents in Pierrefonds, according to a source close to Furlano.
The source added that Furlano has been under intense pressure and that the neighbourhood is increasingly frustrated with government relief efforts. Before being arrested and charged with wilfully obstructing a police officer Tuesday, Furlano had been warned by officials not to interfere to fix a dike near his mother’s home.
After he went ahead, police carted him off in handcuffs.
While he was frequently disruptive during Thursday’s proceeding, Furlano told the court he was willing to accept the conditions “under threat.” He insisted the charge against him “stinks” and that the court was violating his “habeas corpus” rights.
“You have many interpretations of what’s going on,” Judge Louis Legault said.
“Do I have my habeas corpus?” Furlano replied.
“You’re all mixed up,” Legault fired back.
At one point, Furlano refused to concede that he was a citizen with legal rights, insisting that he was simply a human being, a free man.
Though he once again refused legal aid Thursday, Furlano did allow lawyer Nicolas Welt to help negotiate the terms of his release. Furlano said he’s willing to accept the bail conditions because he has a new plan to save Pierrefonds homes from flooding.
“My plan A was almost complete, it was nearly done, but (police) put sticks in my wheels,” he said. “I have a Plan B and no one is gonna stop me.
“I’m in handcuffs because I helped my neighbours.”
As part of the conditions of his release, Furlano must stay out of a zone bordered by Gouin to the south, Rivière Des Prairies to the north, 4th Ave. to the east and Sources Blvd. to the west. He will be allowed on Gouin Blvd. and Sources Blvd. provided he’s simply passing through the area.
When relief efforts are done, Furlano will be able to ask the court to allow him back into the affected area — where he owns property. Until then, Furlano has to live at his Île-Bizard home and abide by any orders given by police, military, firefighters or any other officials co-ordinating flood assistance.
“I will accept (these conditions) because I want to be free,” he told the judge.
“You know, in life, we have to accept that, in the short term, we can’t help as we may want to,” Legault said.
“Someone at home probably wants to see you free ... and you probably have bigger concerns right now.”