Racial profiling by Montreal police a ‘systemic problem,’ judge rules in class action

MONTREAL — Racial profiling is a systemic problem in the Montreal police force and profiling victims deserve compensation, a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled on Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit.

“The City of Montreal is responsible for racial profiling committed by its police officers in the exercise of their duties and is required to reimburse damages suffered by the members (of the class action),” Justice Dominique Poulin wrote in a judgment.

The case was brought by the Black Coalition of Quebec, which was seeking $171 million — up to $5,000 per person who was racially profiled and whose information was taken by police.

The lead plaintiff in the case was Alexandre Lamontagne, who was stopped by Montreal police while leaving an Old Montreal bar in 2017, pinned to the ground, handcuffed and taken to the station. He was issued three statements of offence and charged with obstructing police work and assaulting a police officer, but most proceedings against him were eventually dropped.

With Tuesday’s ruling, Lamontagne will receive $5,000.

Poulin ordered the City of Montreal to pay $5,000 to those who were arrested without justification and racially profiled, with others entitled to lesser amounts.

The parties will have to work out a plan for payment with the judge.

The trial heard from numerous witnesses including Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante. For its part, the city recognizes racial profiling within the police force, as well as the existence of systemic biases, the ruling reads. However the city argued “systemic” did not signify “systematic” and that profiling was not a widespread tactic.

“The court concludes that the city is liable, as principal, for the discriminatory and wrongful acts committed against the members of the group by the police officers in the performance of their duties,” the judge wrote in Tuesday’s decision.

“The court also finds that the city is itself at fault, in that it contributes to the racial profiling caused by its arrest procedures,” the ruling said, adding that members of racialized groups are over-represented in police stops, and that “the plausible explanation for this disparity is the racial profiling that characterizes many arrests.”

A City of Montreal spokesman said its legal department is analyzing the ruling and that out of respect for the legal process, will not comment.

In August 2019, a Quebec Superior Court judge greenlighted the class action against the City of Montreal on behalf of racialized citizens who allege they were unfairly arrested, detained, and racially profiled by police between mid-August 2017 and January 2019.

According to Tuesday’s ruling, the amount of time covered will be considerably shorter — roughly a six-month period running between July 11, 2018, and Jan. 11, 2019. The judge also rejected a request for exemplary damages.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press