Republished October 05, 2017 - 3:36 PM
Original Publication Date October 05, 2017 - 2:01 PM
MONTREAL - A man who has been linked to organized crime filed a $635,000 lawsuit against Quebec provincial police on Thursday, alleging he was "severely beaten" by a police officer in a holding cell, according to court documents.
Jean-Francois Emard's lawsuit alleges officer Bruno Landry attacked him in Oct. 2014 in a cell at a provincial police station in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.
Emard alleges the assault left him with a head wound and that he suffered from nausea, dizziness and memory loss for the next six months.
He also says he now suffers from anxiety and is no longer able to work.
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.
Emard's lawyer Steve Hanafi said the lawsuit filed Thursday in Montreal also names Landry, Quebec's department of public security and Quebec's attorney general.
Landry pleaded guilty to assault in June 2016 and obtained a conditional discharge. A Sept., 2016 sentencing ruling in that case described Emard as the presumed leader of the Rock Machine biker gang.
The incident covered by the lawsuit began when Emard was stopped for a Highway Code violation and subsequently arrested for drug possession.
While in his cell, the lawsuit alleges Landry entered and hit Emard eight times in the head as other police officers watched and did not intervene.
Video footage of the event was later released.
In a news release, Emard said he was beaten and the affair was covered up.
"Everyone tried to stifle the affair," he said in a statement released Thursday. "It was lucky there were cameras."
Quebec provincial police refused to comment since the matter is before the courts.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017