Concordia security restrained woman in revolving doors
The altercation followed an alleged attempt by woman to steal student’s phone
On March 28, an unidentified woman was chased into the revolving doors between Concordia’s EV Pavillion and the Guy-Concordia metro by the university’s security personnel. Security proceeded to restrain the woman between these doors.
Michael Erb, an employee at Concordia’s Le Gym, said he was beginning work when he was alerted of this incident by the sound of screaming from outside Le Gym’s front entrance. The woman, he claimed, appeared to be an individual experiencing homelessness, and was blocked from escaping the doors by a lone guard for upwards of 10 minutes.
“She was just sitting there screaming and the [guard] was holding the door with one arm and had her trapped in there. I saw her palms sliding inside the door, she was dropping to the ground crying,” said Erb.
One anonymous Concordia graduate student, who will be referred to as Sam, took a video and photographs of the incident. In a video provided to The Link, two officers are clearly involved in restraining the woman: one on either side of the revolving doors. Sam said that these officers were eventually joined by three or four additional security personnel.
“While I was there, a few people yelled at the officers, telling them what they were doing was horrible and violent. One of the officers replied in French ‘don’t worry she can breathe,” Sam explained.
Sam noted that when the woman was eventually released from the doors, she appeared to be limping.
Shahrzad SedaghaTzadeh, owner of Salon Guy Coiffure located opposite the revolving doors, explained that one of her employees, who wished to remain anonymous, also witnessed the event. According to this employee, she explained, the incident ended when police arrived to escort the woman away in handcuffs.
When asked for comment, Concordia security director Darren Dumoulin referred The Link to official Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci.
Maestracci said the incident began when security personnel were notified by a student that the woman had stolen their phone in the EV atrium bathroom.
Maestracci said that the woman fled in the direction of the metro following an attempt by security to approach her. According to Maestracci, the woman was eventually escorted away by police after they were contacted by security. While no charges were laid against the woman for this incident, Maestracci claimed, she was arrested on account of previous SPVM warrants issued against her.
“It is rare that security calls the police but in this case the suspect was not a Concordia community member and was known for prior incidents on campus. The phone was returned to the student,” said Maestracci.
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