Lawyer of Montreal man wrongfully arrested in cop attack says police behaviour was ‘problematic’

MONTREAL — The lawyer representing a Montreal man wrongfully arrested and accused of attempted murder of a police officer says her client was made to feel like a “monster” despite the requirement to presume his innocence.

Virginie Dufresne-Lemire told CityNews the arrest of Mamadi Fara III Camara in late January was “problematic” for several reasons.

Camara was arrested in the city’s Parc Extension neighbourhood and charged with disarming and attempting to kill a police officer following a traffic stop, despite repeatedly proclaiming his innocence.

“His arrest was quite brutal,” said Dufresne-Lemire. “The police took him by his shoulders, took him out of his vehicle by the window of his car and they put him on the ground. Face on the ground. And one of the police officers put his boots on his head.

“Even though you’re accused of something, you’re still presumed innocent. And you still have the right to dignity. It’s quite problematic how it happened.

“I understand the police were doing an inquiry for a very serious offence but still, there’s questions about how it was done.”

READ MORE: PM ‘concerned’ about wrongful arrest of Montreal man accused of trying to kill cop

Camara was released after prosecutors said evidence had surfaced absolving him, and Montreal’s police chief apologized publicly and to him personally. No arrests have been made in the attack on the officer.

Dufresne-Lemire says Camara acted as a model citizen throughout the entire process.

“He stayed, he called the police,” she said. “He didn’t resist when he was arrested, answered all police questions. He had the behaviour of a very good citizen. It’s a behaviour you want anyone to have when they interact with the police.

WATCH: Camara accepts police apology (Feb. 8)

Camara appeared Sunday on the popular Radio-Canada talk show, “Tout le monde en parle,” with Dufresne-Lemire – his first interview since being exonerated.

He told the program he wasn’t permitted to speak to his family while in detention and described a harrowing six days in jail awaiting the case to play out.

READ MORE: Quebec announces probe in case of Montreal man exonerated in cop assault case

“It was very hard,” said Dufresne-Lemire. “For six days he did not have any answers. He couldn’t talk to his family. He did not know what was going on. Very stressful time knowing you’re innocent and not knowing what is going on and why they’re keeping you.

“It was very intense. He felt like everyone was looking at him like as if he was a monster because he was the cop killer.”

The government has ordered an independent investigation into the case, led by Quebec Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne, slated to begin Feb. 22.

“The way in which the investigation was conducted – his interrogation, the searching of his residence, all of that – will be up to the investigation to assess if that was appropriate or if it was an excessive use of police authority,” said former RCMP officer Alain Babineau.

–with files from The Canadian Press