STM constable charged with assault during métro intervention
A special constable for the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) appeared at the Montreal courthouse Thursday to be charged with assaulting someone in an intervention at Berri-UQAM station last year.
Special constable Mikaël Lahaie faces one count of armed assault and one count of assault. The incident took place in January 2025 and was followed by an investigation from the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI).
In 2025, the year the incident took place, the number of assaults reported in Montreal’s métro system rose by 15 per cent compared to the year prior, according to
reporting from the Canadian Press.
“The STM is currently in a situation where the bond of solidarity and tolerance is very fragile and, in some cases, even broken. There is a feeling of insecurity, frustration, and anxiety,” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada told reporters Thursday.
According to the BEI press statement, the victim is First Nations. The investigation was conducted “in connection with the BEI’s mandate for all allegations of a criminal nature targeting police officers in cases where the victim or the complainant is a member of the First Nations or the Inuit,” the BEI wrote.
“I think the constable we’re talking about here is a human being managing a rather exceptional situation, given what we’re currently experiencing in the métro,” Martinez Ferrada added.
Ferrada said she will “wait to see the results of the investigation,” but noted the Montreal métro “is not a warming centre, nor is it an emergency shelter. We must ensure passenger safety and also make sure that Montrealers experiencing homelessness have access to services and can be transported to them.”
In 2021, STM inspectors were sworn in as special constables and granted peace officer status. They are therefore now subject to the Police Act and can be investigated under warrant for criminal allegations issued by the BEI.