Montreal woman cleared of assaulting police officers, obstruction of justice
Majiza Philip, 29, was charged after she had her arm broken during an intervention with police in 2014
A Montreal woman has been found not guilty of assaulting two police officers and obstruction of justice.
Municipal court judge Katia Mouscardy delivered her verdict Thursday.
The incidents date back to November 2014 when a friend of Majiza Philip, 29, was arrested outside the Olympia Theatre.
Philip said she tapped on the window of the police car her friend was in. She said one of the four officers then grabbed her and forcibly restrained her, which caused her to suffer a broken arm.
Arij Riahi, the lawyer representing Philip, said the Crown's case rested on the testimony of the four police officers involved in the arrest — but that their version of the events varied from one officer to the next.
In her ruling, Mouscardy said the Crown failed to prove any of the criminal charges against Philip.
Mouscardy said the police officers' testimony contained numerous oversights and omissions, and that the officers had no reason to believe Philip was, or would be, committing a crime.
After her injury, Philip filed a complaint with the police ethics commission in January 2015.
She said she first learned about the criminal charges pending against her during her first interview with the commission in July of that year.
With files from Elias Abboud