$482 ticket, a seized car and a stranded family
Man accuses SQ officer of lacking compassion after Highway 15 stop
A Brossard resident is offended by the treatment he says he received from a Sûreté du Québec police officer who pulled him over on Sunday, criticizing the officer for lacking compassion and handling the situation in a dogmatic way.
On Sunday afternoon, David Warren, 49, was driving his younger brother Craig and his five-year-old niece, Ruby, to the Montreal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. They had been visiting from Scotland and had a 5:35 p.m. flight to catch, first to Toronto and then to Glasgow.
Heading north on Highway 15, shortly after crossing the Champlain Bridge, the brothers noticed a Sûreté du Québec police car behind them. Craig, a police officer in Scotland with more than 20 years of service, joked about David being wanted by police for something he hadn’t told him. Then the police car’s sirens came on, and Warren was pulled over.
The officer informed Warren that his registration hadn’t been paid after taking his car, a 2005 Nissan Murano, out of storage following a recent trip. Warren says he told him that was impossible — he had paid it 10 days in advance and had the proof of payment on his phone to show him.
But he says the officer didn’t care to see it or hear him out. He also feels the officer became “agitated” when he told him he would be more comfortable speaking English than French.
Within minutes, Warren said, a tow truck was pulling up in front of his car.
Meanwhile, in the back seat, Ruby was growing anxious and confused. Warren says he tried to plead with the officer to let them get to the airport so his brother and niece wouldn’t miss their flight. As a police officer himself, Craig says he was astounded by the officer’s demeanour. His daughter now crying uncontrollably, he decided to film a short portion of the exchange.
“Try to lean on the side of the person here with the kid,” Warren can be heard telling the officer in the video.
“As I told you, if you have the proof that it’s paid, contest the ticket,” the officer responds in English, with a French accent.
“But what am I doing in the meantime trying to get my brother to the airport?”
“Call someone or get a taxi.” “I don’t have anybody.”
The officer shook his head. “That’s not my problem.”
After Warren tells him he’s being unreasonable, the officer responds: “I’m just doing my job and that’s the way I do it every time. I do it 100 per cent perfect my job.”
Craig, who had moved to the back seat to comfort his daughter, then tried to intervene.
“You’re not listening,” he said. “I don’t have to,” the officer responded, saying he was dealing with Warren.
He then warned Craig not to interfere in his intervention, telling him that as an officer, he should know better.
“When are we going to get to the airport?” Ruby bawled before the video ends.
Warren was issued a $482 ticket and his car was towed. The brothers convinced the tow truck driver to give them a lift and were dropped off at a gas station in Verdun. Craig and Ruby were able to grab a taxi and made their flight. Warren took an Uber home and paid $172 to retrieve his car on Monday — after paying for his car registration a second time, he says.
“Obviously, the plan was not to part ways at a gas station,” Warren said, frustrated at how his brother’s visit ended.
Though he said he understands police officers need to do their jobs, he feels the officer could have “shown some common sense” and not “stranded a five-year-old girl on the side of a busy highway.”
Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Jason Allard said the police force can’t comment on specific interventions for privacy reasons. He said the force will look into the event and that Warren has been provided with the information needed to file a complaint with the Commissaire à la déontologie policière. Warren said he already did.
Craig, for his part, said he remains “totally gobsmacked” by the situation. He also plans on filing a complaint against the officer.
“His conduct traumatized my five-year-old daughter and was wholly unbecoming of a law enforcement officer in this day and age,” he wrote in an email from Scotland. “I have never in my police service witnessed an officer act with such callous disregard for members of the public.”
Warren maintains he paid his registration on time and that everything was in order with his papers.
He says he had followed the proper steps to store his car in his garage for a few months while away in Scotland and Vancouver earlier this year. He contacted the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) in May before returning to Montreal in June, asking what to do about his car. He then paid his registration online on June 2, he said, thought everything was handled, and had been driving his car since without incident.
“I never went on the road thinking for one second that I hadn’t paid,” he said.
He plans on contesting the ticket in court.