Montreal police fire seven officers over racism claims

The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) fired seven patrol officers on Monday following allegations of racist and discriminatory conduct at two neighbourhood stations, in what police chief Fady Dagher called an exceptional measure.

Five of the officers worked at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord and two at Station 21 in Ville-Marie, La Presse reported. The SPVM did not name them. Dagher said the dismissals were necessary for reasons of public interest and public safety, La Presse reported (translated from French).

None of the cases was new, the newspaper reported. Each had already drawn media coverage in recent months.

“We have broken the code of silence at every level of the organization,” Dagher told reporters, according to La Presse (translated from French). He said he believes the move answers critics who claim there are never consequences at the SPVM, and he said about 99 per cent of his officers uphold the values of the badge. He added that the fired officers do not represent the force’s culture.

The most recent case involved an officer at Station 39 who was already under investigation over alleged racist acts and is now suspected of destroying evidence in a domestic violence case. Dagher described the internal investigation’s findings as a “vile act, but not on a person” when asked about unconfirmed reports from police sources, La Presse reported. Those sources were not authorized to speak publicly. The allegations against the officers have not been tested in court.

Ericka Alneus, leader of the opposition Projet Montréal, said firing officers who commit what she called barbaric acts is necessary but only a starting point toward rebuilding trust between Montrealers and the SPVM. Her party tabled an urgent motion on Oct. 19 to force Dagher to answer councillors’ questions at city council. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s party agreed, but only after the administrative and criminal investigations conclude.

The Coalition Main Rouge renewed its call for a public, independent inquiry into systemic racism and racial profiling within the SPVM. Executive director Joel de Bellefeuille said seven dismissals cannot be an adequate institutional response to allegations of this scale.

The head of the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, Yves Francoeur, declined to comment on the dismissals. Public Security Minister Guy Lapointe Jr said he is following the file and the ongoing investigations.

The firings come as the force already faces scrutiny from city hall. A judge has also been asked to rule on a Montreal bylaw banning insults to police, a case we have followed.

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Sources: La Presse, Radio-Canada and CBC Montreal reporting on the SPVM announcement.