The police ethics committee in Quebec has suspended a Montreal police officer for 15 days after he broke the code for the tenth time in his career.
The most recent incident involved him insulting a Muslim driver.
Pierre Gagné, an administrative judge with the committee, warns in his ruling that veteran police officer Éric Locas is at risk of losing his job if his “unacceptable behaviour” continues while in the line of duty.
“What strikes the committee is the lack of self-criticism and awareness that officer Locas has demonstrated in recent years,” wrote Gagné.
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The complaint stems from an incident where Locas pulled over Abdelkrim Rahal on Papineau Avenue on Feb. 6, 2017 around 6:50 a.m. because his vehicle’s lights were off. The officer started by saying “Shalom” to the driver.
Rahal, who is Muslim, explained that he turned off his lights because it was daylight. When Locas said it was dark outside, Rahal responded that he knows when the sun rises because that is when he carries out his morning prayers.
“I don’t care about your prayers,” Locas replied.
The police ethics committee found that the remarks made by Locas, a 25-year veteran, were insulting and inappropriate.
The lawyer for Quebec’s police ethics commission argued that Locas should receive a 25-day suspension due to the serious nature of his misconduct. The committee found that recommendation too harsh.
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Locas’ lawyer asked for five days, mentioning that the police officer has made changes in his career and recognizes he has a problem with communication. He no longer works in traffic duty. However, the committee also found a five-day suspension was not adequate.
In his ruling, Gagné noted that this is the tenth time that Locas has breached the police ethics code and that he cannot seek clemency from the committee.
His transgressions date back to October 2002, when he was reprimanded by the committee for not carrying out a “minimal check in the computer network.”
In a decision from March 2014, Locas was sanctioned after he told a citizen to “shut your mouth and give me your papers” during a police intervention. He was suspended for five days for an abuse of power, refusing to identify himself, not informing why the citizen was being questioned and a lack of respect.
Locas was also suspended in March 2015 and January 2018, for five and 12 days respectively, for separate incidents while on duty.
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