François Ducas, a black teacher who had been arrested by two police officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Repentigny (SPVR) while driving his BMW, had a grain of cause before the Human Rights Tribunal. The City of Repentigny and the two women are ordered to pay him the sum of $8,000.
“The racial profiling of which Mr. Ducas was the victim undermined the safeguard of his dignity and caused him stress which he still bears the marks of, underlined judge Doris Thibault in her decision rendered on July 20. The Tribunal considers that an amount of $8,000 adequately compensates for the damages suffered”.
François Ducas, whose story had been publicized, had filed a complaint with the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ), which then took the case to the Human Rights Tribunal.
On December 8, 2017, while driving in his car to meet a student doing an internship in Repentigny, he came across a police car. She turns around and follows him for a distance of a few kilometers, before the police activate the flashing lights. The teacher then refuses to identify himself, believing that he is the victim of profiling, which leads to his arrest, his handcuffing, a search and the delivery of two statements of offence.
“The Court is convinced that the police would not have turned around to intercept him randomly if he had been white, writes the judge. This decision can only be explained by stereotypes, unconscious biases. »
In a press release, the CDPDJ considers that this decision is “an important victory in the fight against racial profiling and against the stigmatization of black communities”. “Systematically intercepting black people behind the wheel without any reason is unfortunately a phenomenon that continues to prevail and must be eradicated. We continue to work closely with all stakeholders to change police practices in depth,” said Myrlande Pierre, Vice-President responsible for the Charter mandate.
“It’s a start, a step in the right direction to recognize racial profiling in Repentigny,” commented François Ducas in the same press release. My case is not unique and unfortunately there is still a lot of work to do. Profiling with its perverse effects greatly undermines the trust of racialized communities in the police”.
For its part, the City of Repentigny did not wish to grant an interview. In a statement sent to the To have to, it indicates that “the City will not appeal this judgment and will continue to focus its efforts on its action plan. »
“Since that time, the City and the SPVR have invested the time and resources necessary to do things properly, in order to achieve lasting changes that will ensure that all of our practices and ways of doing things are free from all forms of racism and discrimination in consideration of the rights of the person and the principles set out in the Charter”, one writes.
The judgment underlines in particular that “the implementation by the SPVR of numerous measures aimed at adapting police practices free from discrimination, the seriousness of the measures deployed with recruits with regard to unconscious bias, profiling and discrimination demonstrate a discount in-depth questioning of police practices and the measures taken to counter racial profiling. »