A family with four young children, traumatized by the irruption in their apartment of the tactical squad of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), who had taken the wrong door, will receive $145,000 in compensation.
This story happened on February 17, 2022, around 5:30 a.m., in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. The peaceful sleep of Brahim Tarhri and Asma Hassani, as well as their four children, including a one-year-old baby, was brutally interrupted by the agents of the Tactical Intervention Group (GTI), who broke down their door to rob them assault rifles in the face.
While the baby screams, the parents find themselves on their knees, with the weapons of the GTI police officers still pointed at them.
“Completely distraught, they feared that their family would be shot in their own home,” reads the lawsuit filed by the family against the SPVM last July.
When the agents question the couple, they realize that they have taken the wrong accommodation. Rather, they were looking for the son of the neighbors downstairs, where they are heading then.
A little later, the police, including a major, come to apologize to the family, admitting that the GTI had gone to the wrong place.
Post-traumatic stress
In their pursuit, Mr. Tarhri and Mr.me Hassani say they suffer from post-traumatic stress following the event and have to take antidepressants. Mme Hassani had to stop breastfeeding her infant, “having lost her ability to produce milk due to her trauma,” the court documents read. Mr. Tarhri had to stop working for several months.
The police intervention greatly disturbed the four children, who developed sleep disorders.
The parents were asking for $242,000 in compensation from the City of Montreal for the consequences of this event.
“After investigation, it was determined that the risk of condemnation of the City was high in this matter,” indicate the municipal documents filed last Wednesday with the executive committee. “A suspension of the legal proceedings was therefore agreed with the plaintiffs’ attorney in order to negotiate an out-of-court agreement. »
It is indicated that the couple underwent expertise to assess the extent of their psychological after-effects.
The agreement settled the case for an amount of $145,000.
With the collaboration of Mayssa Ferah, The Press