The police officer, who was disarmed and shot following the interception, was hounded by security forces who questioned his version of events leading up to the attack.
• Read more: He was unarmed and shot dead: “It was a shooting to kill”, policeman testifies
• Read more: Montreal police officer disarmed and assaulted: The accused planned the whole thing three days before
“I recommend it to you [l’automobiliste intercepté] Not yelling, you tried to convince him that he had a cell phone while driving,” said Mee Sharon Sandiford, at the trial of Ali Ngarukiye this Monday in a Montreal court.
Standing in the witness box, Officer Sanjay Vick spends the morning rehearsing a police intervention on Highway 40 in Montreal, Jan. 28, 2021. That day, a police officer intercepted the cell phone of the driver, Mamati Kamara, while driving.
At one point during the intervention, police officer Vic was attacked from behind by a man armed with a metal bar. A struggle ensued and the assailant was able to disarm and shoot the officer.
Contradictions
However, when help arrived, Officer Wick, Mr. He identified Kamara as the perpetrator of the crime. The latter was arrested, and then acquitted a few days later. Now Ali Ngarukiye, 23, has been charged with attempted murder.
Except that the evidence heard at trial differs. On the one hand, Mr. Kamara swore he never drove with a cell phone in his hands and kept quiet. Sanjay Vick on his part, Mr. Kamara swore he was angry, unlike him who found the driver’s denial of evidence humiliating but kept calm.
“I saw the cell phone 200% and he said no, it’s a bit shocking, it’s like it was mistaken for a suitcase,” said the police officer when asked by the security officer.
Mamati Kamara during the trial of Ali Ngarukiye. Montreal, September 11, 2023. PIERRE-PAUL POULIN/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL/AGENCE QMI
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / Agence QMI
Not reliable
However, Mr. Sandiford suggested that although the police officer swore to be calm and professional on the job, this was not true and he was not trustworthy. He also brought a case from 2018 in which, during an intervention, a motorist who took too long to identify himself was decisively removed from his vehicle by police officer Wick.
“I didn’t shout or show disrespect, I didn’t see anything excessive,” replied the police officer, who defended his job.
The defense attorney raised other cases in which a police officer was allegedly the target of complaints dating back to a decade ago. The latter, however, swore that he did not remember these events.
“My file is 100% clean on a moral and ethical level,” insisted Agent Vick, always adding that he was responsible for the people he intercepted.
At this point in the trial, it’s hard to know where the defense is going with its line of questioning. This is because, as in all other cases, the accused does not have to reveal his game until the Crown’s case is over.
Photos filed at the trial of Ali Ngarukiye, accused of attempting to kill police officer Sanjay Wick on January 28, 2021. Photographs show where the police officer was beaten with an iron bar. He was then disarmed and shot. COURTESY (COURT PROVIDED PHOTO)
Courtesy (Photo Courtesy)
Vigwal could not recognize Nkaruki himself. If the latter was arrested, his DNA was allegedly found on items belonging to the police officer. Further investigation revealed that he planned the attack days in advance by stealing vehicles and parking them far away from the attack site.
Ngarukiye also pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. His trial continues under the presiding judge François Dadur.
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