The strong intervention of the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) a few days ago against young blacks must lead to real changes in the police force, some believe.
“I was glad it was filmed,” says historian and artist Webster. There are a lot of things happening in Quebec or elsewhere that are not filmed ”.
With some annoyance, he explains that he has been denouncing racial profiling within the SPVQ for twenty years. “We waste time not recognizing racial profiling, not recognizing systemic racism,” he says. We have proof day after day, week after week ”.
The SPVQ revised its recruitment strategy in May to attract more candidates from visible minorities. But more will have to be done, thinks the League of Rights and Freedoms. “They don’t think they need to tackle racial profiling head-on,” says Quebec City spokesperson Maxim Fortin.
In a video filmed by a witness, a police officer sends snow with his boot on the face of a 17-year-old boy held on the ground. Stéphane Wall, a former SPVM police officer and expert in the judicious use of force, admits that this gesture was not necessary.
But he adds that he lacks details regarding the events that led to the police intervention and warns that one must be careful before making amalgamations. “I remain cautious, but it looks like a crowd of people at 3 am, maybe tipsy and who maybe don’t collaborate too much,” he said.
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