Arrest of young blacks in Quebec | An independent investigation, now

The images that have been circulating since last weekend on the arrest of a group of young people at the exit of a bar in Quebec give shivers down the spine.

We see several police officers surrounding the young Pacific Niyokwizera who is on the ground. A policeman hits him and throws snow in his face with his foot. We also see two police officers arresting a young woman. They drag her by the hair then pin her to the ground, her head buried in the snow.

To date, we do not know the context of this interpellation. We do not know anything about the reasons that led the Quebec police to intervene in this way. However, we know that no ticket was distributed and that no one was charged.

A witness said the police targeted only black youth. This is an assertion that must be verified.

On Sunday, the head of the Quebec City Police Department (SPVQ), Denis Turcotte, said the police were responding to a call from the owners of the Dagobert bar on the Grande-Allée. However, this assertion was contradicted by one of the co-owners of the establishment who told the newspaper The duty that the police were in a ghost car already parked in front of the Dagobert. He ensures that his employees did not call the police. Finally, the president of the SPVQ union, Martine Fortier, declared for her part that at first glance, she did not believe “that the color of the individual’s skin had an impact on this intervention”.

Tuesday, we learned that another event where the use of violence seems questionable took place in a restaurant in Sainte-Foy. A few hours later, the SPVQ announced on Twitter the suspension of five police officers involved in the arrest of Dagobert.

For all these reasons, and because this information suggests a certain bias on the part of the police, it is essential to give a mandate to the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI).

Its a question of confidence. And transparency. The population must be reassured about the objectivity of the process.

The Police Act stipulates that the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, may, in exceptional cases, “instruct the Independent Investigations Office to carry out an investigation into any event […] involving a peace officer and having a link with his functions ”.

The arrests of last Saturday represent in our opinion “exceptional cases”.

Not only does Minister Guilbault have the powers to initiate this investigation, which can very well be conducted in conjunction with the ethics investigation that she has already requested, but she must do so quickly. Hurry up.

Contrary to what Prime Minister François Legault said – who prefers to wait for the conclusions of the internal investigation conducted by the SPVQ before calling for an independent investigation – the BEI must be mandated today. Indeed, the Regulation on the conduct of the BEI’s investigations specifies that “a police officer involved must write independently, in particular without consultation and without influence, an exact, detailed and exhaustive report relating in particular to the events that occurred during the investigation. event, sign it and give it to the investigators of the Bureau of Independent Investigations within 24 hours of the event, unless the director of the Bureau grants him an additional period ”.

The police officer “must also meet with the investigators of the Bureau and refrain from communicating with another police officer involved or witness about the event until he has submitted his report and has met with the investigators of the Office “.

It is therefore important that the BEI can start its interviews as quickly as possible. We must meet all the actors involved in the arrests last Saturday while their memories are still precise.

Secondly, we will have to look at the issue of recruitment and training.

Is the incident involving the young Pacific Niyokwizera a racist event? We don’t know yet. One thing we do know, however, is that the representation of visible minorities within the SPVQ is virtually non-existent. The latest data available indicates that there are no black police officers, two Asian police officers and a dozen from indigenous communities. Recruiting diverse candidates is one of the priorities of Police Chief Turcotte, appointed last spring. It is urgent to tackle this issue.

But not before shedding light – objectively and independently – on everything that happened in Quebec City last weekend.