Montreal busker charged after altercation with police

A street performer in Montreal's Old Port is facing three charges, including assaulting police, after a bizarre altercation in a popular tourist spot Wednesday.

The juggler, Stephen Moore, was arrested and spent the night in jail after the incident, which was captured on video and posted to YouTube.

Moore was performing in Place Jacques Cartier when police officers approached him and asked to talk to him in private.

Moore refused and, on video, broke free from an officers' grip.

In front of a sizable crowd, which had gathered to watch his performance, Moore deked around officers as they tried to grab him.

As one of the male officers charged him, Moore picked him up before the pair tumbled to the street.

The other officers then restrained the street performer.

The borough alleges Moore was violating a municipal bylaw by not booking the performance space in advance and had already been warned by a city official.

To legally perform in the square, a contract has to be signed with the Ville Marie borough over and above the street performer permit required by the city.

According to the borough, Moore hadn't signed that contract.

Police were dispatched to make him move along. They say that Moore had been warned twice in the week leading up to the incident and they were called by the borough to intervene.

Two officers were dispatched to ask Moore to stop his performance, but he refused and played to the crowd. More officers were called in and that's when the camera started rolling.

One officer suffered a minor injury to his leg in the incident.

Borough changed performer rules

Steve Petitpas, a friend of Moore's and fellow busker, called the incident "shocking."

He said the majority of the veteran performers didn't sign the borough's contract in a form of protest after the administration changed rules, limiting the times when performances can take place to before 9 p.m. on the weekends, without consultation.

"Anywhere else in the city, you can play until 11 p.m.," he said. "They cut the hours. They've also opened it up to a lot more performers from the metro to play in the square, filling up all the spots."

Petitpas said it's had an impact on the performers and the businesses in the Old Port.

The incident involving his friend could have been handled in a better way, he said, given that a crowd that included children were watching.

"They should have waited until he had finished his performance, the crowd had dispersed and they could have done this thing quietly without any incident."