A judge has ruled the city of Montreal must pay three Canadian soldiers $12,000 in total for being accosted and assaulted by police officers during a student protest in 2012.
Justice Magali Lewis ruled in May that police had no right to intimidate the three soldiers, who had just left a bar when they got caught up in the midst of a maple spring demonstration.
A comment from one of the soldiers about the officers on bikes appearing less impressive than the motorcycle brigade was not taken well by some of the bicycling officers.
The soldiers were surrounded, court documents show; one of them was put in an armbar and the other two pushed, one to the ground with an officer's bike frame.
One of the armed forces personnel was previously a Montreal police cadet. Nikola White told the court it felt like they were dealing with a street gang.
While none were arrested or injured, the judge sided with the armed forces members, saying in his ruling the police behaved in a way that discredited their role as keepers of the peace.