Video of Montreal police officer pepper spraying man in the face prompts investigation

Montreal police have launched an investigation into an incident, captured on video and posted on social media, that shows an officer pepper spraying a driver, who is black, in the face at close range.

Police have confirmed the authenticityof the video, which is about a minute long, saying it depicts eventsthat took place Saturday night not far from the Grand Prix celebrations on Ste-Catherine and Drummondstreets.

Mayor Valrie Plante calledthe images "worrisome." The mayor said she spoke to the head of the police service about the incident this morning.

When the video begins, a police officer appears to be speaking tothe driver, who is sitting in his stationary car, through the open car window.

Their conversation is inaudible. Seconds later, thesame officer pepper spraysthe driver in the face.

At least three police officers eventually remove the driver from the car, lean him against a police cruiser,and attempt to detain him.

"For honking? Stop this," the driver says while struggling,then accuses the officers of being racist.

The person filming the incident then asks for an officer's badge number, and at one point calls the officers stupid.

His request goes unanswered, so the amateur videographer repeats himself. Seconds later, he is pepper sprayed as well.The videoends soon after.

The two men were pepper sprayed by two different officers.

The video had garnered more than 300,000 views on Facebook before it was taken down sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning.

Driver did not identify himself when asked, police say

IanLafrenire, head of policecommunications, would not say whether he thought the officers had acted appropriately.

"We will wait until we have all the information before we judge the work of the officers," he told Radio-Canada.

He said every time there is a use of force event, police have to fill out a reportand that it will help clarify the situation.

Lafreniresaid officers at the scene had closedSte-Catherine Saturday night due to heavy pedestrian traffic.

The driver was stuck in that traffic and repeatedly honkedhis horn, which police said amounted to egging on the crowd.

Bicycle officers asked the driver to identify himself so they could give him a ticket for excessive honking, but he would not,Lafreniresaid. A number of drivers were issued tickets for the same offence that night, he added.

The driver collided with one of the police bikes during the incident,Lafreniresaid.

"If you feel that you received a ticket and you don't feel it was appropriate, this [doesn't give you the] right to challenge the officers, to push them, to run away," he said.

It is unclear when in the sequence of events that collision occurred. The video shows the driver trying to advance in his car then stoppingabruptly, but only after he was pepper sprayed.

The second use of pepper spraywas a judgment call, Lafreniresaid, and stressed that police are waiting to get all the facts before determining whether the situation was handled well.

Quebec'sHighway Safety Code states a driver should only use their horn whennecessary. According to the province'sautomobile insurance board, excessive honking can lead toa fine of up to$281.

Lafreniresaid the driver of the car was arrested, given two tickets and released. He may face criminal charges.