Finally, was it racial profiling or not?
The arrest of Brice Dossa in the Central Market parking lot on November 3 sparked strong reactions. A video showing two plainclothes police officers alongside a handcuffed black man has circulated on social media. By the time the footage was taken, the two auto theft cops already knew the man was indeed the owner of the white Honda CR-V that had aroused their suspicions. Despite this, Mr. Dossa was still handcuffed, the police having misplaced the key… On the video, one of the police could be heard addressing Mr. Dossa as familiar terms, speaking to him in a way that cannot be described as polite or respectful.
That said, the video doesn’t show everything. What happened before we started filming? It would be useful to know that.
Perhaps some information would come to refute the thesis of racial profiling? Perhaps it was rather a botched intervention carried out by police officers not only unlucky to have lost the key to the handcuffs while they were filmed, but perhaps also a little incompetent?
Or perhaps this intervention followed the procedure point by point?
In any case, given the media coverage of the intervention and the political reactions it provoked — that of the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, among others — explanations are necessary. However, 10 days have passed and it is radio silence on the side of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), which has contented itself with incomplete declarations on Twitter.
True, the police department must comply with the many procedures that are required when there is an investigation. But 10 days seem more than enough to understand what happened during a simple police intervention. We are not talking here about tracing the thread of an investigation into organized crime or the importation of 1000 kg of cocaine, but about shedding light on a banal suspicion of a stolen car.
If the investigation shows that we are faced with a comedy of errors, we should explain it to the population. Same thing if we consider that the case is more serious and that a more thorough investigation is necessary. Regardless of the reasons behind this slippage, transparency is essential.
This is the best tool available to the SPVM if it wishes to rebuild the bond of trust with the Montreal population. Because this link, let’s say it, is damaged. To restore it will be one of the challenges of its future director. It was written in full in the job offer: improve the climate of trust between the population and the SPVM.
The deterioration of this bond of trust is explained, among other things, by the numerous cases of racial profiling, a phenomenon documented by several studies, including one in particular which dates from 2019 and which showed that in Montreal, blacks were 2.5 times more likely to be stopped by the police than white people.
The results of this study fortunately led to the adoption of a new questioning policy at the SPVM. The recent judgment of the Superior Court which comes to restrict the random interception of motorists by the police is an additional measure which will regulate police work to avoid cases of racial profiling. We should rejoice. It takes time to rebuild trust, but things are progressing.
That said, on the other side, there are tired, stressed police officers, some losing their bearings. They are said to be more and more disengaged. And this phenomenon is also documented by numerous studies.
This disengagement is not observed only at the SPVM. All police forces are affected, whether in the rest of Canada, the United States or Europe.
A study carried out by the National Police School of Quebec and made public last year identified the main reasons for this disengagement in Quebec. At the top of the list: fear of repercussions or consequences in connection with possible accusations of racial profiling. And the fear of being the object of criticism from the public in connection with the ignorance of the police profession.
The distrust of the population and the discomfort of the police are therefore two sides of the same coin.
To reconcile these two points of view, which are far from being irreconcilable, the SPVM has everything to gain by coming to the public square to explain its work.
He does it when things are going well. He then lets the cameras in to show his good shots. But he must also do it when things are not going so well, to explain what went wrong. If he wants to restore trust, he really has no choice. And it starts by explaining to us what happened last November 3 in the Central Market parking lot.