MONTREAL — Montreal police are asking hockey-mad Canadiens fans to stop calling them to file complaints against Zdeno Chara.
Police say they have been inundated with calls from people seeking to file a criminal complaint against the Boston Bruins defenceman.
The calls demanding criminal charges began Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the NHL announced it would neither suspend nor fine Chara for a brutal hit on the Habs’ Max Pacioretty.
While the league closed the books on the incident, and even Montreal Canadiens players remained tight-lipped, many of the team’s livid fans demanded action.
Police say their emergency call centre started getting flooded around 4 p.m. — after the NHL announced its decision.
A spokesman said police suspected the calls were inspired by a local media outlet that suggested the idea.
The police spokesman described the gesture as “irresponsible” — and he urged Montrealers to keep the emergency line free for actual life-and-death matters.
“Someone in the media has been telling people to call the police to complain,” said Sgt. Ian Lafreniere of the Montreal police.
“This shows a serious lack of responsibility.”
He would not speculate, however, when asked whether police might actually investigate the incident which left Pacioretty with a severe concussion and a cracked vertebra.
He said public complaints, which are confidential, are not actually required to trigger a police investigation.
But advancing an assault case without a complaint from the actual victim is highly unlikely — and, in this case, people associated with the Habs showed little inclination Wednesday to make a public issue of the incident.