Montreal police arrested dozens of protesters who launched beer bottles at riot cops and tossed firecrackers at officers' horses during the city's annual march against police violence on Monday.
A mob of hundreds of demonstrators, many wearing masks, chanted four-letter slogans at police as they made their way through the city's low-income Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood.
Dozens of officers in full riot gear and on horseback followed the protesters through the streets. Some of those horses were startled and spun around after being pelted with firecrackers.
Terrified shop owners on a commercial strip peered out the windows of their stores as the swarm moved down the street, knocking over a mailbox and setting off fireworks.
"We're closed," said one man as he retreated inside a jewellery store.
Police began breaking the crowd into smaller groups less than an hour after the march got under way.
The officers eventually corralled dozens of protesters to make 100 arrests.
The charges ranged from taking part in an illegal protest, to mischief, to armed assault on a police officer, said a department spokesman.
"We would love to have a peaceful demonstration, but that would be dreaming," said Sergeant Ian Lafreniere.
"Unfortunately, I think some people are taking advantage of these situations ... to cause damage and get into confrontations with a police officer. This is not a sport, this is not a game."
Sgt. Lafreniere said four suspects carrying backpacks containing Molotov cocktails were arrested before the march began.
He said damage was kept to a minimum and there were no serious injuries.
"That's the reason we're happy with the result of it," Sgt. Lafreniere said.
Demonstrators said they were marking International Day Against Police Brutality, and protesting social and racial profiling by Montreal officers.
"Police always have carte blanche," said protester Fred Murray.
"If they do something that's not right, right away they're always protected."
Mr. Murray said police target young people on the street and give them fines for just about any reason.
One of his friends recently got a ticket for not having a licence plate on his bicycle, he said.
"Just because he's a punk," Mr. Murray said at the protesters' pre-march meeting point in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium. "That's the reason we're here."
For the last 13 years, these protests have led to hundreds of arrests, countless smashed windows, and street clashes between baton-wielding officers and masked demonstrators hurling projectiles.
The traditional cat-and-mouse game took place Monday along the alleys and at a park in the east-end neighbourhood.
But this instalment of the confrontational march wasn't as violent as past showdowns.
Last year, bricks, bottles and food, including bananas, were thrown at police, while protesters also set garbage cans on fire. Police arrested more than 200 people, about 50 of whom faced criminal charges.
Many expected tensions to be high this year.
The police officer who fatally shot Montreal North teen Fredy Villanueva testified last week at a controversial coroner's inquiry into the August 2008 shooting.
Constable Jean-Loup Lapointe also wounded two other teenagers when he opened fire in the north-end park.
Mr. Villanueva's death sparked a night of rioting and looting in Montreal North that made international headlines.
Const. Lapointe has said he was outnumbered and had a man reaching for his gun. None of the teens were armed.
On Monday, protesters held signs that read "Lapointe Fredy's executioner" on one side. The other side of the placards featured a drawing of a Montreal cop wearing an executioner's mask and holding a handgun.
Sgt. Lafreniere said the protesters have a right to demonstrate, but things usually get out of hand.
"At the end of the day no one will remember the reason why they were there, they will just remember them as people breaking stuff," he said.