Lawsuit seeks to establish political profiling as a cause to sue

MONTREAL- A Concordia student who was active during the Quebec student protests has filed a lawsuit in the Montreal Courthouse alleging the police targetted her for her political views.

“Every time a cop confronts me it results in a fine,” said Katie Nelson, who filed the suit. “The accusations aren’t based on nothing, we wouldn’t be where we are in the lawsuit if we didn’t have evidence.”

The eight-page lawsuit seeks $24,000 in damages over what Nelson terms “political profiling.” She alleges police catcalled her from squad cars, detained her without reason, and gave her more than 20 tickets for infractions ranging from jaywalking to spitting in a public place. The tickets amount to almost $7,000 in fines.

“What Montreal Police attempted to do here was use a form of economic blackmail to prevent her from being able to exercise her right to protest,” said Ethan Cox, who edits Rabble.ca. Cox is acting as a spokesperson.

Montreal Police wouldn’t comment on the case since it was before the courts. But a police spokesperson said that the department takes these sorts of accusations “Seriously, very very seriously. And it’s not just the police department,” said Chief Inspector Fady Dagher, of the SPVM.

“You’d be surprised to find out how many individual members don’t accept it either.”

Criminal defence attorney Eric Sutton underscored that the allegations in Nelson’s case have yet to be proven, but added that if what she says is true, it would appear she’s being singled out by police, who already have a lot on their plate.

“You can’t go about ticketing people all the the time for these infractions,” he said. “We don’t have the resources for it, and I don’t think it creates a healthy climate.”