STREET GANGS TRYING TO SCARE US, COPS SAY

One Officer Shot At Near His Home. 'It They Attack The Police, Who
Will Be Next - A Judge, A Prosecutor' Union Leader Asks

Brazen street gang members are trying to intimidate Montreal police
officers, the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood said yesterday.

During the past year, gang members have surrounded uniformed police
officers on the streets of St. Michel and Montreal North in attempts
to frighten them, Francoeur said.

"They are very arrogant and they have no respect for authority," he
said. "If they attack the police, who will be next - a judge or a
prosecutor?"

Francoeur said he was angered, but not surprised, to learn that a
street gang member fired three shots at an off-duty police officer
outside the cop's Montreal North home early Sunday morning.

Constable Stephane Edme, 25, had arrested the gang member on two
occasions.

Earlier this year, prosecutors at the Montreal courthouse complained
that gang members were trying to intimidate them by taking their
pictures using cellphone cameras.

Francoeur called on Quebec's public security minister to hand over
more money to fight Montreal's growing street gang problem.

Because gang members come from a small, tight-knit community,
traditional investigative techniques, such as using undercover agents,
don't work. Instead, police need more resources to hire more officers
and conduct electronic surveillance if they want to nab the leaders of
the major gangs, he said.

In Dec. 2005, the police department asked for $40 million over three
years t o battle street gangs. The force recently received $2 million.

Last February, Quebec announced it would spend $34 million to fight
street gangs through local prevention programs, reduce the number of
handguns in circulation and battle cyber-crime.

But Francoeur said Montreal police need a bigger piece of the pie to
tackle the street gang problem. The gangs are involved in drug
trafficking, prostitution and fraud.

A spokesperson for Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis said the
police department hasn't received any of the $34 million because the
provincial budget was only adopted last week.

After Sunday's shooting, the police brotherhood received many emails
from frustrated police officers who were angered at the attack on
their colleague.

Edme was returning home at 3:45 a.m. when he spotted two men hovering
over a third man on a sidewalk outside his house.

Edme and one of the men, a street gang member, exchanged looks before
the off-duty officer drove to a telephone booth to call 911.

Patrol officers went to the intersection in Montreal North where Edme
had seen the men, but they had left by the time the officers drove
by.

A short time later, Edme returned to his home. After getting out of
his car, the same street gang member that he had spotted earlier,
suddenly appeared. He pulled out a gun, walked towards Edme and fired
three shots.

Edme was not hit by any of the bullets. He jumped back into his car
and fled. The suspect was arrested by police after witnesses called to
report gunshots.

Godson Descollines, 30, is facing several charges, including attempted
murder, for the attack on Edme. He will appear in court tomorrow for a
bail hearing.

As for Edme, Francoeur said it is likely that he will be transferred
to another police station.

"It is difficult for him," said Francoeur, who spoke to Edme
yesterday.

"He is motivated and is very interested in his work."