SPVM bans officers from using ‘hog tie’ restraint technique
Posted September 17, 2026 4:31 pm.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has ordered its officers to stop using a controversial restraint technique known as “hog-tying” following a man’s death last year.
SPVM leadership issued this directive after a coroner concluded that the technique may have contributed to the death of 29-year-old Abisay Cruz during a police intervention in Montreal in 2025.
Deputy Police Chief Marc Charbonneau told the city council’s public security committee on Wednesday that an internal memo had been sent to officers following the release of the coroner’s report, dated Aug. 12.
He noted that this restraint technique, which involves binding a person’s hands and feet behind their back, is not officially taught by either the SPVM or the École nationale de police du Québec.
READ: ‘I miss my dad’: Family says goodbye to Abisay Cruz, died following Montreal police intervention
In her report, Coroner Géhane Kamel concluded that Cruz died as a result of cocaine intoxication and likely positional asphyxia during the police intervention in March 2025.
Kamel deemed it “highly probable” that this position contributed to his death.
The SPVM states that it supports the coroner’s recommendations and is committed to continuing its review of the report and implementing those recommendations.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
