Demands for police reform after video of officer kneeling on Black teenager’s neck
Posted July 13, 2021 5:20 pm.
Last Updated July 13, 2021 5:21 pm.
MONTREAL (CityNews) — Advocates are demanding a change in police procedures after a video of Montreal police restraining a Black teenager surfaced online last month.
Video of the June 10 arrest appeared to show a Montreal police officer kneeling on a 14-year-old’s neck outside Georges-Vanier high school in the city’s Villeray district.
“When I saw the video, I said, ‘Really? They really think they can still do this?’” said Marjorie Villefranche of Maison D’Haiti.
“They are explaining that this is a tactic to control someone, and the police school in Nicolet (Que.) told us that they don’t teach such tactics.”
The images were widely shared on social media and were compared to the May 2020 video of a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“This is post George Floyd, arguably the biggest civil rights movement of the past 50 years, since the civil rights movements in the States,” said advocate Thierry Lindor. “You have an image of a man dying. You would think that this would send a clear message to police forces across the globe.”
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Police have said they intervened after receiving a call about a dispute involving about 15 teens in front of the high school and are investigating whether the use of force was justified.
“When the kids saw the police, as kids and the relation that we have with the police, they started running,” said Villefranche. “From the moment they started running, the police said ‘they are suspects because they started running when they saw us’.”
READ MORE: Videos of police kneeling on Black teens sparking outrage
Montreal police say two minors were arrested for possession of a weapon, and obstructing police.
“Not even a man, a child,” said Lindor. “And the excuse was he had a prohibited weapon. I don’t care if he had anything on him, it does not matter.”
In a statement to CityNews, the SPVM said: “On June 10, the PDQ 31 responded to a call from the management of Georges-Vanier high school for a fight involving about fifteen young people from various schools. Following the intervention, SPVM arrested two minors for carrying weapons.
“Regarding more specifically the individual controlled on the ground by the police officers seen in one of the videos, it is important to specify that he was in possession of an electric pulse weapon (Taser), a prohibited weapon under the Canadian Criminal Code.”
But lawyer Paul Kalash says the taser was only located after the takedown had already taken place.
“From what it appears from the video, they got it while they were searching him while he was already shackled, and the police officer already had his knee on his neck,” Kalash said. “So for us, the question of the taser is pretty much inconsequential to the whole event.”
The SPVM says it has a duty to privacy given the possibility that the young person’s family may initiate legal proceedings.
“He deserved to be treated with decency and respect,” said Lindor. “And the question I would ask myself … do they answer calls like this in private schools in Westmount?
“Your postal code directly impacts the reactionary behaviour of police officers.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
