Montreal police investigators had enough evidence on June 11 to act against a 16-officer patrol unit accused of racism. The officers were not taken off the street until the next day, and in between they worked a night shift answering emergency calls, according to police statements reported this week.
The unit worked out of Station 39 in Montréal-Nord, a borough where community groups have long said police penalize Black and Arab residents. Police Chief Fady Dagher has confirmed that one allegation involved “officers who allegedly cut the hair of racialized civilians to keep as trophies.” Police have not said who those civilians were.
The missing day
Police began investigating in March after internal complaints. By June 11, investigators had reached what police describe as a threshold justifying “decisive management actions.” The officers were on duty from 9 p.m. that night until about 6:30 a.m. the next morning, assigned to emergency calls. The unit was dismantled the evening of June 12, and Dagher announced it at a late-night news conference.
Asked why it took until then, Montreal police said in a statement: “Several logistical issues had to be resolved, including replacing the entire team to avoid any interruption of services to the public.” They declined to say whether any of the officers had direct contact with the public between June 11 and June 12.
Ericka Alneus, leader of the official opposition at city hall, said: “This new information raises questions and concerns, at a time when trust with citizens is already fragile.”
Where the case stands
All 16 officers were removed from regular patrol. By mid-August, four had been suspended, and police referred evidence involving those four to Quebec prosecutors, who have not said whether they will lay criminal charges. Internal documents reported by The Canadian Press in September describe a “radicalized” subculture among some officers but never define the term.
The internal investigation is still being run by the Montreal police department itself. Quebec’s public security minister named an observer to oversee it in June. Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the Quebec Liberals and a coalition of Black community groups led by the Afro Youth Summit have called for an independent public inquiry. Premier Christine Fréchette said in June she was not ruling one out.
No inquiry has been called, and prosecutors have set no date for a charging decision.
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