“I will never forgive myself for calling the police. I feel responsible. »
The voice of Marie-Mireille Bence threatens to break in a flood of sobs in front of the crowd present near the town hall of Repentigny Monday evening. The emotion with which she remembers the 1er August 2021 is heartbreaking. That day, his son Jean René Junior experienced an episode of serious psychological distress and brandished a small knife. Marie-Mireille called the police to help them. Instead, officers shot her 38-year-old son multiple times and killed him.
“I carry my burden until I die,” she continues, devastated. Suddenly, a man collapses in the crowd. He cries, shaking and visibly upset, as a few onlookers come to his aid. Marie-Mireille Bence continues her speech, unwavering.
The dozens of people, mostly black, present Monday evening on the forecourt of Repentigny city hall listened to the speakers follow one another in solemn silence. The mobilization was organized to commemorate the year that has passed since the death of Jean René Junior, but also on the occasion of Emancipation Day, established by Ottawa last year to remember the resilience of black people in the face of the effects devastating slavery.
It was held at the initiative of Pierre Richard Thomas, president of Lakay, an organization that promotes multiculturalism and fights against racial profiling in Repentigny. “Junior’s death is a legacy of slavery and the slave system which was based on the superiority of races,” he explains in an interview.
And like many of his fellow citizens, he demands more action to fight against racial profiling within the Service de police de la Ville de Repentigny (SPVR). A scourge which, according to him, cost the life of Jean René Junior. “We are still at the starting point with the City,” he laments. They don’t even recognize racial profiling. »
Met on site, Vivianne and Kaseka have been living in Repentigny for a year. They have been a couple for three decades. “We are a mixed couple, so we have seen a lot of racism, attests Vivianne while her husband nods. The death of Jean René Junior is one more situation of racism among many others. »
They came to show their support for the 38-year-old’s family, but also to demand more action to tackle racial profiling in the city. “We left Montreal because we wanted more calm,” says Kaseka, with an ironic smile on her face.
“Changes are afoot”
In interview with The duty, the mayor of Repentigny, Nicolas Dufour, is satisfied with the measures adopted by the City to counter racism and claims to “fully respect” the holding of the demonstration. “I understand the grieving mother. That people come to demonstrate in front of the town hall, it is completely normal and understandable, ”he says.
Asked whether he recognizes the existence of racial profiling within the SPVR, the elected official is cautious. “I can’t say yes, I can’t say no,” he says. But there are a lot of arrests, and that worries us. »
A devastating report published in September 2021 and written by university researchers revealed that black people are three times more likely to be arrested by the police than white people in Repentigny. The researchers also found widespread denial about the existence of racial profiling among members of the police force.
However, Mayor Dufour is certain that the situation will change thanks to an action plan put in place last fall and which includes 50 measures aimed in particular at countering racist or discriminatory interventions. “Is this systematic profiling and that there is an operating mode at the SPVR to file directly the black population of Repentigny? I am not ready to go that far, ”says the one who was elected last November. “But there is most likely a problem. »
The City of Repentigny and two of its police officers were recently ordered by the Human Rights Tribunal to pay $8,000 to François Ducas, a victim of racial profiling in December 2017 while driving his car. In its judgment, the Court recognized that the City was nevertheless showing “an in-depth questioning of police practices and the measures taken to counter racial profiling”.
As for black citizens worried about local police practices, Mayor Dufour claims to “understand” them and have “a lot of empathy” for them. “I would tell them to give us time to do the work. Changes are afoot, but it’s not going to be settled tomorrow morning. It’s time, and honest, credible and transparent actions, ”he argues.