A resident of Rivière-des-Prairies says he was the victim of racial profiling

Sacha-Wilky Merazil was quietly returning home after doing some shopping when he was arrested by the police last Sunday in Rivière-des-Prairies. Then embarked in a patrol car and handcuffed, he considers to have been the victim of racial profiling.

Reached by telephone, Mr. Merazil recounts the events that led to his arrest with emotion. “A few meters from my house, there was a police intervention in progress. I saw the police talking to a young black man, he recalls. When he left, I asked if I could pass. »

He claims that the police officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) agreed to let him circulate, but that a patrol vehicle suddenly positioned itself to block his way. “An officer asked me to turn off my vehicle. When I asked why, he told me I sounded like a criminal they were looking for in a domestic abuse story. »

A video taken by Mr. Merazil during his arrest and that The duty viewed proves his claims. In the recording, which lasts one minute and 26 seconds, we hear a police officer claim that Mr. Merazil, who is sitting in his car, has a “similar face” to the suspect sought and instructs him to show his identity cards.

“I told him that I would not identify myself because I have nothing to do with this story”, explains the main interested party in an interview. In the video, the police officer warns him that he “will end up in the cage of the vehicle [de police] in case of refusal to cooperate. Mr. Merazil, unshakeably calm, then asked the policeman for his serial number, after which the latter opened the door of the vehicle and ordered him to get out. Several police then grab Mr. Merazil, causing him to drop his phone. We clearly see an agent trying to put his boot on the camera of the phone that has fallen to the ground.

“I found myself in the back of the police vehicle and handcuffed. I was never told why I was under arrest, ”says Mr. Merazil on the phone, sobs emerging in his voice.

Released after several minutes

Visibly shaken by the events, he says he was finally released “after long minutes”. “I am a young man who has no criminal record, who has no criminal record,” explains the man who sits on the Youth Council of Montreal-North and who was a candidate for Project Montreal in the 2017 municipal elections.

Affirming that he is currently exploring possible legal remedies with his lawyers, this father of a little girl believes that “it would be good for the police to do their job with dignity” since “there is a minority of police officers who do a job that tarnishes the work of the institution”.

“Despite everything, I have enormous respect for the police and for their work,” he says. This is not the first time that he has been arrested by the authorities for reasons which, in his view, relate to racial profiling: “In the past, I have already been intercepted for routine checks, but this this time, we are talking about an abusive intervention. »

According to an independent report published in 2019, black and indigenous people are “between four and five times more likely” to be arrested by SPVM officers.

Following this report, the SPVM launched external consultations to review its policy on arrests. Consultations… in which Sacha-Wilky Merkazil himself took part in 2020. he.

By email, the SPVM’s media relations section indicated that it did not wish to comment on the case: “When events are reported to it, the SPVM is responsible for ensuring the quality of the work done by its police officers. However, we will not provide any further details regarding this case. »

The email also mentions that “if a person felt aggrieved during a police intervention, it is their right to file a complaint against the police officer(s) with the SPVM or with an independent body” and that “any discriminatory conduct or profiling is subject to the principle of zero tolerance”.

To see in video