Montreal police officers approach Station 39 in the Montréal-Nord borough on Saturday. Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada says she has agreed to ramp up the deployment of body cameras within the police force.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Montreal police have suspended two police officers and reassigned 14 others over allegations a police unit in the city’s north end was targeting racialized groups.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) announced the action against the officers on Friday, stating in a press release that the force’s codes of discipline and ethics may have been violated, as well as potentially the Criminal Code.
Several media outlets reported that officers from the Station 39 police unit in the borough of Montreal-Nord allegedly cut the hair of racialized citizens to turn it into “trophies.” Radio-Canada reported that traffic tickets were also allegedly issued to citizens solely on the basis of their ethnic background.
During a news conference on Friday, Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher, the first racialized leader of the force, indicated that those allegations made up part of the SPVM’s investigation into the unit.
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On Sunday, Christine Black, the Mayor of Montreal-Nord, said anyone victimized by police racism or profiling should come forward.
“That is the best way to ensure that your voice is heard, and to contribute to light being shed,” Ms. Black said during a news conference. “We are determined to follow this issue with vigour because we, very much, want to get to the bottom of this.”
She said residents in Montreal-Nord, particularly those from Black, Arab and racialized communities, have been going through a “lot of emotion – anger, sadness, a sense of déjà vu for many citizens.”
The Montreal police force said Friday that it has asked Quebec’s director of criminal and penal prosecutions, which is in charge of directing criminal prosecutions in the province, to look at a file of material on the case.
On social media, Quebec Deputy Premier Ian Lafrenière, also the Minister of Public Security, called the alleged police behaviour “completely unacceptable and shocking,” and said Friday that criminal charges could be laid.
Montreal police, in a statement, said police employees raised concerns in March about unacceptable actions and behaviour by officers, which led to the investigation. Chief Dagher said Friday that the 14 officers who were reassigned will be given tasks that do not require contact with any citizens involved in the investigation.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the allegations “extremely troubling” and said racist behaviour has no place within Montreal or its institutions.
She also said the SPVM’s investigation must be allowed to run its course.
“Montrealers deserve to know the whole truth about what happened. That is precisely what I want this investigation to do,” she said at a news conference Saturday.
Ms. Ferrada said she and Mr. Lafrenière have agreed to ramp up the deployment of body cameras within Montreal’s police force.
“This is an important tool that can effectively strengthen transparency, better document interventions and give both citizens and police officers a sense of security,” Ms. Ferrada said.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said she found the allegations against the officers extremely concerning.
“The alleged actions, if confirmed, are incompatible with the values of respect and integrity that must guide the actions of all our police forces,” Ms. Fréchette said in a social media post.
Mr. Lafrenière said he had spoken to the mayor and the director of the Montreal police to offer provincial support.
“What reassures me is that it was police officers themselves who reported these actions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ferrada said profiling, discrimination and racism unfortunately still exist in many institutions, not only the Montreal police.
“I’m a woman of colour. I’m in a relationship with a Black man. I can tell you all about profiling; we’ve experienced it first-hand.”
The Montreal police union said any form of racism on the force is intolerable, and contravenes the values of Montreal police officers.
“What is alleged is totally unacceptable and shocking,” Yves Francoeur, president of the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, said in a statement issued on Saturday.
The statement also noted that the presumption of innocence applies to police officers.
The investigation is not the first to involve officers at Station 39.
In 2008, the shooting death of Fredy Villanueva, an unarmed teenager, by a police officer led to protests in Montreal-Nord. A march turned violent, with rioters setting fire to vehicles and looters vandalizing businesses while creating headlines across the country
An independent public inquiry, headed by Quebec Court Judge André Perreault and plagued by delays that left a years-long open wound in the city, found in 2013 that the shooting was legally justified on self-defence grounds but unnecessary.
With reports from The Canadian Press.