A black Montreal motorist who was arrested and pepper sprayed after a routine interception carried out by two police officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has just won his case.
Lamine Nkouendji, who was criminally accused of obstructing the work of police officers in the exercise of their duties, was acquitted in a decision rendered on April 16 in which the court noted that he was the victim of racial profiling.
“At least on an unconscious level, the race of the vehicle driver played a role in the decision [des policiers] to investigate his plate and, possibly, intercept it,” writes Judge Gabriel Boutros of the Montreal municipal court in his decision.
Judge Boutros also did not believe the version of the SPVM police officers, who claimed that Mr. Nkouendji had forced a yellow light.
Max Stanley Bazin, president of the Quebec Black League, welcomes the court’s decision.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Max Stanley Bazin, president of the Quebec Black League
There is an old saying that police officers must serve and protect. There, the police do the opposite. They do not serve the citizen and they do not protect them. They violate his fundamental rights.
Max Stanley Bazin, president of the Quebec Black League
Me Fernando Belton, Lamine Nkouendji’s lawyer, notes that it is “extremely rare” for a person to be acquitted on a defense of racial profiling in criminal law.
“To my knowledge, this is the second decision in this direction in Quebec. The first was in 2005,” he says.
An interception that degenerated
The facts date back to June 24, 2020, when agents Adrien Gagné and Guillaume Michel-Black, of the SPVM, were traveling in their patrol car on Avenue du Parc heading north and turned right onto Avenue Van Horne, heading east .
On Van Horne, Lamine Nkouendji was driving a rented vehicle and waiting westbound in a line of vehicles at a red light.
Seeing Mr. Nkouendji, Officer Gagné turned his head to the left while he was driving to see that the vehicle driven by Mr. Nkouendji had an “F” plate, which is a commercial plate.
He then decided to make a U-turn, overtake a few other vehicles to place himself directly behind Mr. Nkouendji’s vehicle. The police testified that the driver then passed a yellow light at the corner of Hutchison Street.
In their interception, the police realized that Mr. Nkouendji was driving with a Cameroonian driving license, that his right to drive was sanctioned and that he had unpaid tickets.
It was while trying to seize the vehicle that the situation degenerated, and the police sprayed pepper spray in the face of Mr. Nkouendji, who protested having been intercepted because of the color of his skin. The intervention was recorded on the latter’s cell phone.
In his decision, Judge Boutros said he retained “the realistic possibility that racial profiling was carried out” when police officer Gagné decided to turn his head sharply to the left to look over his shoulder while driving to see the vehicle plate led by Mr. Nkouendji.
“This raises reasonable doubt about an essential element of the alleged offense, namely that the officers were in the exercise of their duties. »
The court concludes that interception based on such grounds cannot be judged to be part of the police officer’s function. So Mr. Nkouendji could not hinder the work of the latter.
“Highlight the unacceptable”
Max Stanley Bazin notes that the courts today do an “excellent job” of upholding citizens’ rights. “They do not hesitate to highlight the unacceptable and point the finger at those responsible. »
Mr. Bazin invites people who believe they have been wronged to contact the Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights, which can offer free legal representation.
“Profiling creates moral injuries. People can stop functioning normally in society because of this. If a delivery person has to deliver urgent medication to an elderly person and is illegally intercepted by a police officer, this could put lives at stake. In such a case, there would be two victims. »
Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), notes that racial profiling can take many forms.
“In Montreal and peripheral regions, we see a lot of interceptions with oblique patterns. For example, not having turned on your indicator to change lanes. Then, the police question and seek to justify the interception after the fact. »
Increasingly, the courts are sensitive to this phenomenon, he says.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Fo Niemi, general director of CRARR
We see it a lot in municipal court, the judges no longer have patience for that, they become intolerant of these interceptions.
Fo Niemi, general director of CRARR
Me Belton notes that proof of racial profiling must be done indirectly in court, since no police officer will say that he is carrying out racial profiling. “So, necessarily, a judge must look at the circumstantial evidence presented to him. He is looking for clues that contributed to the events. In this case, the judge did not believe the police officers’ justification. »
Me Belton reports that Lamine Nkouendji also filed a civil suit against the City of Montreal shortly after the events in 2020, and that this file is still active. “Victory at the criminal level can help at the civil level. That said, I still represent him, so I can’t comment further. »
Anik de Repentigny, communications manager for media relations at the SPVM, notes that the police service “is sensitive to the situation referred to in this decision and takes note of the judgment rendered on April 16. At present, we can confirm that work to analyze this decision is underway. In the circumstances, we will not issue any additional comments. »
4 to 5 times
These are the probabilities that a black or indigenous person will be arrested by the police in Montreal compared to a white person, according to a study carried out from 2014 to 2017.
Sources: UQAM, TELUQ and UdeM
25%
This is the proportion of arrests in Montreal that concern black people, who make up less than 10% of the population
Sources: UQAM, TELUQ and UdeM
Human Rights Tribunal blames Laval police
A black man was the victim of racial profiling in 2018 as part of his interception by the Laval Police Service (SPL), according to a recent decision by the Human Rights Tribunal.
To help prevent future abuses, the Court also requires the police to collect data on racial affiliation in the context of police interceptions.
The alleged facts date back to September 19, 2018, when Caroline Beaulac and Jessica Lamothe, two SPL police officers, decided to intercept the vehicle driven by Jonathan Woodley. The latter then complained of having been arrested because of the color of his skin. Tensions rose, and other officers intervened, blocking the driver’s vehicle.
This arrest resulted in two infraction notices, which were deemed unjustified by the court in its decision rendered on April 15.
“The social context marked by the existence of racial profiling within the police forces in general and the SPL in particular supports the conclusions of the Court, based on the preponderant evidence, according to which racial belonging and skin color, combined to the sex of the complainant, were a factor, or even the main factor, which led officers Beaulac and Lamothe to intercept [M. Woodley] and to apply differentiated treatment to it,” we can read in the decision.
On Wednesday, the SPL said it had taken note of the decision rendered by the court, told The Press the spokesperson for the police force, Geneviève Major.
“We will take the time to evaluate the decision with the Legal Affairs Department of the City of Laval. Integrity, respect and diversity are at the heart of the values of our Service and guide our daily actions and our ongoing commitment to the Laval community,” she noted.
Important judgment in 2022
In 2022, the Superior Court ordered an end to interceptions of motorists without real reason. This arbitrary power served for certain police officers as a “safe harbor for racial profiling against the black community,” judge Michel Yergeau concluded in a 170-page decision.
“We cannot as a society expect a part of the population to continue to suffer in silence in the hope that a rule of law will finally receive an application from the police services that respects the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Charter Canadian,” argued the judge.
A 22-year-old young black man, Joseph-Christopher Luamba, was behind this major decision. The student of Congolese origin was arrested without any reason three times in Montreal in just one year, between 2019 and 2020.
Read “Major Superior Court decision on racial profiling”