Montreal Lawyer Calls Out SPVM's Policies for Contributing to Racial Profiling

Human rights lawyer and executive director of the Center-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) has represented many clients accusing the Montreal police or an individual officer of racial profiling and police brutality. Within Niemi's experience, he says he has noticed certain policies enforced by the SPVM that contribute to racial profiling. 

Niemi says there is a practice for Montreal police officers to stop rented cars when a Black person is driving them. He says he believes it comes from a directive, but he cannot know unless the SPVM or an SPVM officer is taken to court and the polices are unearthed in court documents. "Of the 4-5 cases we have represented, the police officer began the interaction in a hostile manner." Niemi said, when recounting cases where he's represented a Black driver who has been stopped by Montreal police with a rented vehicle.

Niemi says we can continue to go after individual officers, but unless bias policies change there will be little change in racial profiling from ending within Montreal's police force.

The SPVM has done multiple multicultural and anti-racism trainings over the last few decades. Niemi says the cost, syllabus and what else was included within these trainings have not been made clear to the public. Local 514 reached out to the SPVM's media relations to inquire more details about the anti-racism trainings, however they did not provide an adequate answer. 

Niemi thinks these trainings have attributed to somewhat of a culture change within the SPVM. He says there has been some culture change in accepting that racial profiling exists, however, the judicial courts need to acknowledge this. 

This interview was used for an upcoming episode of Local 514.

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