Community groups are demanding more accountability from the Montreal police service (SPVM) after seven officers were fired over allegations of discriminatory and racist behaviour. Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher announced the administrative dismissals Monday at a news conference at SPVM headquarters, calling it a “sad day” for the force. The fired officers include five from station 39 and two from station 21. Groups that advocate for marginalized and vulnerable groups in Montreal are speaking out again. It comes as Dagher said in a one-on-one interview with CTV News that he is being as transparent as he can about the allegations. Meanwhile, the Montreal police brotherhood is vowing the challenge the firings. Beverly Jacques, director of Coalition Pozé, said the firings are a good start but wonders if criminal charges will ever be laid. He also wants to see changes in how misconduct cases are handled within the SPVM. “There’s so many consequences as a citizen that you would get. But when you’re a police officer, it seems like, you know, there’s a different approach to things. There’s more, leniency,” Jacques said. The police service has been facing controversy in recent months after allegations surfaced about officer misconduct. It all started in mid-June when Dagher held a late-night news conference to announce he was disbanding a patrol unit at police station 39 in Montreal North. The allegations were serious enough to suspend two officers and to reassign three of them, he said at the time. He confirmed one of the allegations included an account of an officer cutting the hair off racialized citizens to keep as “trophies.” Then, in October, new allegations came to light at station 21 downtown, where two officers were accused of misconduct, including one who allegedly urinated on a homeless person while in uniform. The second officer allegedly posed for photos mocking suspects under arrest in humiliating positions. The allegations were first reported by La Presse. Dagher also was forced to publicly address allegations that another officer at station 39 interfered with a domestic violence investigation. Radio-Canada reported that the officer allegedly deleted evidence on a smartphone that was provided by a complainant, and that he allegedly knew the alleged perpetrator. CTV News has not independently verified the report. Sonia Parra Jordán, a project manager with Halte femmes Montreal North, a day centre for vulnerable women, said she wants to see a full review of the SPVM’s internal protocols. “It’s important that victims are protected, are taken seriously, and are not revictimized,” she said. Calls for a public inquiry Some groups, including the Red Coalition and Québec solidaire (QS), have called for a public inquiry into systemic racism with the Montreal police service since the allegations came to light. An open letter from the opposition party at the National Assembly has collected more than 800 signatures in support of the public inquiry. “I recognize Mr. Dagher’s commitment to bringing about real change within the police force, but it will take much more than dismissals to truly address the systemic problem within the SPVM,” said Andrés Fontecilla, the QS’ spokesperson for the fight against racism, in a statement on Tuesday. “If Mr. Dagher truly wants to change the culture within the organization, an independent public inquiry into the entire organization must be launched.” Quebec’s new domestic security minister, Guy Lapointe Jr., is not yet ready to take that step. “Several bodies are currently assessing the situation: the independent observer, whose mandate is to ensure the integrity and impartiality of the SPVM’s investigations, the BEI and the Police Ethics Commissioner. Some cases are also being handled by the DPCP,” his office said in a statement on Tuesday. The Red Coalition, a civil rights group, has long documented acts of alleged racism by Montreal police officers and said the firings were vindication for the victims. “Why does it take one, two, three officers to sound the alarm internally on their own officers when you have an entire community in the province and in the city alone that have been repeating this for decades?” said Joel DeBellefeuille, executive director of the Red Coalition, in an interview. One-one-one interview with SPVM chief Dagher welcomed the internal reporting from his officers and reiterated that the officers accused of misconduct represent just 1 per cent of the police force. He also defended how forthcoming he has been about the allegations given the fact that no officer to date has been charged with a criminal offence. “I’ve been the most transparent person I can be as a chief for my population and for the police officers that are doing a great job. They are asking the same thing, but sometimes I have to be really careful,” he said in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday. Dagher said he does not expect to see more officers face such serious misconduct allegations beyond the seven who were fired. The case of alleged interference in a domestic violence complaint, he said, was already known by him before it was publicized. “It’s not like it’s getting worse. It’s the truth … coming out, and I don’t have 20 other files coming out. I have those seven, and these are the ones from the last, almost, six months,” he said. The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) says the firings are extraordinary and a sign that police are denouncing their colleagues who engage in racism. “We believe that, finally, the blue shield, the code of silence, has been broken,” said executive director Fo Niemi, pointing to the fact that whistleblowers within the SPVM reported the misconduct in some cases. “This is a welcome departure and this is how we should see it because it’s about police officers standing up to say no more shenanigans by their colleagues and that’s a very, very….unprecedented move and we should applaud these police officers for reporting their colleagues to their superiors.” With files from CTV News’ Maya Johnson
