Brutal video shows cops accosting tiny elderly man during Freedom Convoy protests. His ‘crime’? ‘I just gave the trucker a thumbs-up and a honk’

Video captured the moment Canadian police handcuffed a 4'10" 78-year-old great-grandfather during the Freedom Convoy for reportedly daring to honk his horn.

What are the details?

Video captured the moment an unnamed officer approached the man, who was sitting inside his vehicle on the side of the road.

According to a report from the Toronto Sun, 78-year-old Gerry Charlebois was driving near the main Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa when he saw a trucker.

Charlebois said he honked his horn and showed the trucker the thumbs-up hand gesture out of respect for the ongoing protests.

“I meant no harm,” Charlebois told the outlet. “I just gave the trucker a thumbs-up and a honk.”

Honking, however — as the officer in the video made painfully clear — is not permitted and, in Charlebois' case, resulted in a $118 bylaw ticket for "unnecessary noise."

“I was in shock,” Charlebois recalled of the moment he realized he was being pulled over. “When (the police) pulled me over, he told me I was in trouble for honking the horn. ... He just p***ed me off when he said that about the honking. It upset me."

What happened then?

In the video, which has been widely viewed across various social media platforms, the officer can seen demanding that Charlebois provide identification.

Charlebois then exits his vehicle in order to retrieve his wallet from the back of his minivan to comply with the officer's demands, but things deteriorate from there.

A bystander can be heard heard off-camera demanding the officer stop badgering the elderly man and advising Charlebois to refuse compliance.

Charlebois, who appears to be confused or conflicted at this point, then appears to walk away from the officer, prompting the officer to grab the elderly man by his arm, twisting it behind his back in a hold.

The elderly man then falls hard onto one knee as the officer — along with a second responding officer — handcuffs him.

What else?

Charlebois' family said that their loved one didn't deserve the officer's rough treatment.

“He’s just 4-foot-10,” his son Steve told the Sun. “He wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

His other son, Gerald, added, "I find it disgusting. There was no need to be so rough with him."

Charlebois said he suffered several abrasions and contusions as a result of the detainment.

“I’m so sore,” he told the outlet, showing off cuts and bruises across his arms, hands, shoulder, and knee. “It hurts so much.”

Canadian journalist Joe Warmington shared footage of the exchange and tweeted, "I spoke with him. He’s in pain. He’s 4 foot 10. A retired janitor with 11 grandkids, 4 great grandkids. If this disgraceful treatment of a 78 year old for honking his horn and a thumbs up to a trucker is acceptable to @JustinTrudeau @fordnation @JimWatsonOttawa no one is safe."