As La Presse has learned, the city of Montreal suspects that a worker was drunk while driving a snow groomer in the city center very early last Monday.
Published at 7:10 p.m.
The city immediately suspended him. The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) is investigating the situation.
To make his case even worse, the worker is said to have uttered racist insults and threats towards colleagues after returning to the street yard. ” It is [un collègue] who ratted me out esti,” he would have said, according to the suspension letter handed to him and obtained by La Presse. “What is this black man meddling with? » The word “Schnatz” means “snitch”.
The worker then allegedly said, “I would punch him in the face,” according to the same document, which does not specify the identity of the target of these threats.
At the wheel of his snow groomer, the worker is said to have hit and damaged a vehicle on Rue Chapleau, between Rue Hochelaga and Rue de Rouen, around 2 a.m.
You didn't stop, you left the scene of the accident to signal silence to your colleague, and you didn't report the accident. When you returned to the service area in Bercy, managers noted that you were showing signs of impairment.
Excerpt from the suspension letter to the worker
The damage caused by snow groomers and other snow removal vehicles is extensive on Montreal streets, and citizens often publicly criticize the speed at which they drive.
“You have seriously violated the City of Montreal's Code of Conduct for Personnel and failed to comply with your alcohol, drug and medication consumption monitoring obligations,” said the suspension letter, dated the same day of the event.
La Presse declined to identify the worker in question.
Two open investigations
The SPVM confirmed that it had opened an investigation into an incident that occurred at the location and time specified in the suspension letter.
“The police came to the scene of the accident and determined that there was damage to a vehicle, so it was a hit-and-run,” said police spokesman Julien Lévesque.
Witnesses were found at the scene. A search for cameras in the area was conducted. A report has been written and forwarded to SPVM investigators who will attempt to identify the person who was behind the wheel.
Julien Lévesque, SPVM spokesman
The union representing the affected worker declined to comment on the merits of the case.
“We have been informed that one of our members has been administratively suspended,” Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal, said in an emailed statement. “There is an investigation underway so we cannot comment further. We will follow the file. »
The city of Montreal wasn't much more vocal.
“An investigation has been launched to shed light on this situation,” said spokesman Guillaume Rivest.
“Given the ongoing process and respecting the confidentiality of their employees' files, the city of Montreal and the borough of Ville-Marie will not make any further comments on this issue,” he added.