Police defend actions after three people arrested during cyclist traffic stop in Gatineau, Que.

Witness video shows Gatineau police restraining an individual during a traffic stop in Gatineau, Que. on Thursday. (Witness video)

Gatineau police are defending the actions of several officers during a traffic stop involving cyclists, after a video shows officers physically restraining one person on a busy street.

Witness video obtained by TVA Gatineau shows officers attempting to restrain one of the cyclists on the ground.

The incident happened at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday on Gréber Boulevard.

Police say two officers stopped four cyclists for violations under the Highway Traffic Code and asked the two men and two women to identify themselves.

"Immediately, the four cyclists began to get agitated and inveigled the officers. They refused to identify themselves," Gatineau Police officer Andree East said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"A request for assistance was made by the police officers to obtain the support of their colleagues in order to continue the intervention and when the other police officers arrived on the scene, tempers continued to flare. Some of them showed signs of fleeing and aggression and at one point, one of the men pushed one of the two police officers, resulting in a physical intervention by the officers."

Two men and a woman were arrested. Police say charges of obstruction and assault on a police officer will be submitted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.

The four cyclists, aged 19 to 22, were issued fines for not cycling in the same direction as traffic and driving on a sidewalk.

The four cyclists stopped by police denied the claims by Gatineau police, telling TVA Gatineau they gave their names to police from the start, but one of the officers still refused to let them go.

"The SPVG reminds everyone that it is important for the safety of all to respect the Highway Safety Code, for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, and that the law requires a person who has committed an offence under the Quebec Highway Safety Code to identify himself to a police officer upon request," East said.