Montreal’s new police chief Fady Dagher donned a patrolman’s uniform on Tuesday evening and roamed the streets of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where it all started for him in the police force more than 30 years ago. years. The Journal was able to accompany him as he patrolled the same motels that always attract drug dealers and pimps, drove past a building where he once broke in to buy drugs as a double agent, and even had to respond urgently to a call for a possible attempted murder.
How did you end up on patrol?
Photo Valerie Gonthier
Late in the shift, Chief Dagher had to respond to a call that initially came in as attempted murder. The event, which occurred in a dwelling on Sherbrooke Street West, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, ultimately turned out to be less serious.
First it happened live on TV ! [sur le plateau de Tout le monde en parle] Comedian Maude Landry told me that her brother is a police officer at station 9 and that he could not come to the premiere of his show because he is working. I said, “Ah well! You can be sure that I will patrol in his place! It wasn’t planned at all. And I do it because I like it.
What was the reaction of the police on Tuesday evening when they saw you?
Courtesy Photo
During the appearance of the chief on the show Everyone speaks about it on Sunday, comedian Maude Landry told the police officer that if he replaced his brother on patrol, he could eat his lunch. The artist’s brother, Gabriel, did provide his boss with a meal: a vegetable and tofu stir-fry.
When I returned to the station, people were surprised, many couldn’t believe that I had come to patrol. But many have noticed this: [il montre son épaule] I wear no rank, I put on the blue shirt [de patrouilleur]I have one name tag blue like them, rather than gold. Some people were moved to see that. “We can’t believe you’re dressed like us,” I was told.
Why is it important for you to go to the field?
Photo Valerie Gonthier
Fady Dagher patrolled the streets of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, where he began his police career more than 30 years ago.
Even when I was in Longueuil [comme chef]I go there a few times a year. I hate patrolling as third person back. I want to be forward with my partner. It allows me to discover it, to listen to it. I tell myself that if this agent thinks like that, there must be several who think like him. It shapes my thoughts. Being on the ground, listening, it allows you to know things. If I stay on the 9th floor [du quartier général]I will never know these things.
You always said you wanted to be close to your police. Why ?
Photo Valerie Gonthier
He stepped in on a call that came in as attempted murder, late in the shift.
I love grassroots people, that is to say those on the ground. Because that’s where it’s happening, they’re the ones who have the real pulse, they’re the ones who are going to tell us exactly what’s going on. I like bottom-up strategies better. My base is what is most important. I want to be close to the patrol officers, the investigators, who work day, evening and night, in overtime.
You talk openly about the difficulty of the police profession. Why ?
Because we are judged quickly for things that sometimes happen in a fraction of a second. We are under pressure all the time. In addition, with the complexity of mental health, the post-pandemic period, people are less and less patient, more aggressive. And our police officers are constantly exposed to this clientele. It’s very complicated to be a police officer. It is important that the leader says it, recognizes it, admits it.
Photo Martin Alarie
Chief Fady Dagher patrolled in tandem with Agent Bellavance, who has been a police officer for more than two years.
What are you going to do to bring and keep the police in Montreal?
Recruitment is going to be the number one priority. Retention too. But I’m going to want to think outside the box. It will require boldness at the level of the City and the government to accept that. I don’t know if we have free rein, that’s why I don’t want to talk about it too much. We plan to hire 310 new police officers this year, but if we just look at the pool [de policiers qui vont sortir de Nicolet]we won’t get there.
How can gun violence be stemmed in Montreal?
We need to give the surveys more robustness and more resources. On top of everything that was in place, more needs to be done. I consulted my troops, we are working on it. The event that happened on Sunday in Rosemont [un homme en crise qui a ouvert le feu vers deux patrouilleurs], I went to the field. The weapon that was seized was a machine gun. I’m used to seizing this kind of weapon, but from organized crime. There, it ended up in the hands of someone who has mental health problems, it’s not normal.