Officers at Montreal’s Station 39 are accused of cutting the hair of Black and Arab residents and keeping it as “trophies.” On Friday, Montreal police chief Fady Dagher said he would be “ruthless” with officers who break the rules, as a second scandal landed on top of the first.
The racism allegations concern a 16-officer team at Station 39, which patrols Montréal-Nord. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) disbanded the team this summer. Dagher said at the time that the claims included hateful acts toward Black and Arab people. The investigation began in March, after information came from inside the police service. Two officers were suspended and 14 others were moved to jobs without public contact. A fourth officer was suspended in August, and an officer at Station 21 now faces suspension over what the chief has described as discriminatory and racist acts linked to the Station 39 case.
The first two officers are under investigation by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, which is deciding whether Criminal Code charges are warranted. No one has been charged.
Friday’s update added a different case. An officer who answered a domestic violence call is under criminal investigation, accused of deleting video evidence the victim had provided after recognizing the alleged abuser. The officer has been reassigned to administrative duties with no public contact. Dagher called it “absolutely appalling” that a victim who came forward was treated that way.
Six officers are currently suspended across the misconduct cases. Earlier this month, two officers were suspended over allegations that included urinating on a homeless person.
“Serious consequences are on the way,” Dagher said of officers who damage the force’s reputation. If charges are laid, he promised, “you will see videos, you will see photos.”
Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who has promised to speed up the rollout of body cameras, acknowledged what is at stake for residents who say they were ignored. “The relationship and trust between our institutions and the community are very fragile. And in some cases, that trust sometimes has also been broken,” she said. “To those who have come forward and felt that their concerns were not taken seriously, I hear you.”
For Black Montrealers, the allegations land on a service whose own officers were the ones who reported the conduct. Whether anyone is charged is still undecided. Dagher says more announcements will follow in November.
Have your say