Montreal

Montreal police investigating after officer seriously injured in Parc-Extension

A Montreal police officer is in hospital after being injured during an altercation with a motorist. Police originally said the officer was injured by a bullet, but later the story changed. How exactly the officer was injured remains unclear.

Police originally suspected the officer was injured by gunfire, but later said that may not be the case

A large operation was underway in Montreal's north end on Thursday after a police officer was injured during an altercation during a traffic stop. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Montreal police say they have arrested a suspect after an officer was injured during an altercation with a motorist.

Police originally said the officer was injured by a bullet, but later the story changed. How exactly the officer was injured remains unclear.

"The information we have now is that there is a possibility the officer was not injured by a bullet," said Montreal police spokesperson Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant.

He originally said the officer had been shot in the upper body after pulling over a vehicle on Crémazie Blvd. near Champagneur Ave. just before 4 p.m. 

The incident occurred near the city's Marché Central shopping complex, just south of Highway 40, in the Parc-Extension neighbourhood.

Streets in the area were blocked off as police investigated the incident on Crémazie Blvd. near Champagneur Ave. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Brabant said a traffic stop turned into an altercation.

"There is information that I cannot disclose as we speak to avoid harming the investigation or the efforts of the police officers working here this evening," he said.

A tweet from the SPVM shortly after the incident said the officer was seriously injured, and warned that a major operation was under way.

Brabant said the officer was conscious on the way to the hospital, and was later awake and "feeling good at the hospital."

For about two hours a major police operation was underway in the area, with several streets blocked off. 

With files from Radio-Canada and John MacFarlane