'It's a Black man, and you're a Black man': Police ethics commission ruling raises questions

MONTREAL -- In March 2017, Montreal police got a call saying a bus driver had been threatened by a Black man in Pointe-Claire, on Hymus Blvd.

When they arrived, they found a 46-year-old man walking through a parking lot with family members. They reacted with force.

“He got jumped on by a police officer who ordered him to get on the ground,” says Fo Niemi of the Centre for Research and Action on Race Relations.

“The officer came and handcuffed him and basically said: ‘You're the Black man who apparently threatened a bus driver.’”

The case ended up going to the police ethics commission, which was tasked with deciding whether it was an instance of racial profiling.

Their conclusion offers a glimpse at how this important commission sees profiling, and some critics say it’s a troubling one.

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Corp policier (SPVM, SQ, GRC, agent de la STM, etc): 

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