Shayheid Douglas says he will not forget what he says happened on de la Montagne near Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal, any time soon.
The 18-year-old says just before 4 a.m. June 29th, he was stopped by police while walking with friends, coming from a downtown bar.
“The police officer got out the car and then the other police officer told me ‘You’re under arrest,’ ” he told reporters at a press conference Saturday, flanked by family members.
According to Douglas, the officers did not ask him for identification or say what he had done wrong.
“While they were arresting me, my friends asked them what my name was.”
He alleges that the officers did not respond, but then other police officers arrived and asked the first officers the teen’s identity. It was when they gave someone else’s name that Douglas says he told them they had the wrong person.
“They checked my ID and saw I wasn’t the person they were looking for,” he said. “They still arrested me and put me in the car.”
Douglas claims that after about 20 minutes, the officers drove him to Guy Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard and dropped him off, with no charges. He alleges some of the same officers have been harassing him for months.
“Ever since I got my license,” he said. “I’ve had my license for a year and a bit.”
Douglas plans to file a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, as well as the Police Ethics Commission.
“We want to know what the suspect description is and whether he matches that suspect description,” explained Fo Niemi, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), a civil rights organization that is helping Douglas. “The family takes issue with the officers’ alleged conduct once they found out that they had the wrong person.”
Global News did not get a response from Montreal police about the allegations in time for deadline Saturday.
Douglas’ mother Talea Francis is concerned about what they see as police heavy-handedness and racial profiling.
“It’s a stressful situation,” she pointed out. “I have other children, I have grandchildren, I have nieces, nephews, and that’s who I worry about.”
They encourage anyone who thinks they have been profiled by police to report it.