Montreal activists are cautiously optimism after seven police officers were fired amid allegations of racism, discrimination, abuse of power and questionable treatment of vulnerable people — though some say more needs to be done to address systemic problems across the force.
Montreal police chief Fady Dagher announced Monday that the seven officers had been dismissed administratively following allegations of criminal misconduct.
The decision was welcomed by community advocates who have raised concerns about officer conduct in Montreal.
“Honestly, it was refreshing to see that this time, there were finally some consequences,” said David Chapman, executive director of Resilience Montreal, which serves people experiencing homelessness.
Two of the dismissed officers were from Station 21 in the eastern part of downtown Montreal, where allegations had emerged that an unhoused person had repeatedly been humiliated and dehumanized, including being urinated on while sleeping.
Chapman said he hopes the dismissals send a message to other officers.
“If there’s no consequences, that sends a message where other officers can see, ‘Well, we can more or less do what we want and we’re going to get away with it,'” he told Global News on Tuesday.
Five of the dismissed officers were from Station 39 in Montreal North, where allegations emerged last summer that a group of officers had cut dreadlocks off a Black man’s head and kept them as trophies.
Alain Babineau, a McGill jurist, retired RCMP staff sergeant and Red Coalition racial profiling director, praised Dagher’s efforts to address racist behaviour within the force but said accountability should extend higher through its ranks.
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“I want to see more,” Babineau said.
“I want to see some sergeants, some inspector, lieutenant, and if need be, some assistant commissioner or assistant director that takes the fall for this.”
Babineau also criticized Dagher for using part of Monday’s news conference to praise the work of most Montreal police officers.
“It was not the time to give the good cops flowers. It was a time to hit on the head of the bad cops and to also reassure the community,” he said.
Station 21 is also the home base of an officer alleged to have deliberately deleted video evidence in a domestic violence case.
Sonia Para Jordan of Action Plan Against Intimate Partner Violence said the firings are a good start.
“This is a big step forward and sets a precedent of more definitive consequence to misconduct from police officers,” Para Jordan said, adding she is hopes criminal charges will be laid.
Dagher said Monday the police force has submitted information from its investigation to the Crown prosecutor’s office, which will decide whether charges should be laid.
While activists welcomed the dismissals, the union that represents Montreal police officers raised concerns about how the punishments were carried out.
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Montreal Police Brotherhood president Yves Francoeur said in a message to members the alleged actions of the officers, if substantiated, would profoundly violate police values.
However, he said the administrative process used to dismiss the officers was unprecedented and did not appear to comply with existing rules governing the relationship between the force and its employees.
“From the standpoint of principles, the administrative dismissal of seven (Montreal) police officers raises fundamental questions of law,” Francoeur wrote Tuesday.
“This is a method that’s entirely unprecedented in our history of labour relations, which has never been used and does not appear anywhere. This approach appears to us to be clearly non-compliant and could prove harmful in the future.”
Francoeur said the union “will defend the rule of law, and will take appropriate measures to do so.”
Montreal police consulted city lawyers before revoking the officers’ accreditation and security clearances, Dagher said Monday, through what he described as an administrative dismissal.
The force needed to act immediately to maintain public trust, he said.
The police chief acknowledged the officers could challenge their dismissals and seek reinstatement. He said the force would refer them to its disciplinary committee if they returned.
Montreal police said Tuesday afternoon it had received no indication the officers were contesting their dismissals, though that response appeared to have been issued before Francoeur’s letter.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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