Lawyer fighting cases of racial profiling, police brutality in Quebec

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer when Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes while he was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street.

A Montreal lawyer who advocates for people in cases claiming police brutality and racial profiling says George Floyd represents so many other cases before and after his, even in Quebec.

“When I saw what happened to George Floyd that the police have actually taken a person and put a knee on the neck, I thought that was something that you used to see only in the U.S.,” said criminal lawyer, Fernando Belton. “After that, I was getting testimony from people, people coming into my office and saying that’s the way they’ve been arrested. In my caseload, I have at least five people, among them two minors, who have been arrested with that technique.”

Pacifique Niyokwizera, 18, is another one of Belton’s clients, who, back in November, was seen on video being violently apprehended by Quebec City police during a night out. Already down on the ground, the officer is seen jamming snow in the face of the Black teen. He was left with a swollen face and a bloodshot eye.

“When you see people who have committed a murder that is not racialized, you see the way they’re arrested and you compare what how they are actually approaching my client, you see the difference of treatment, and that alone is an evidence of racial profiling,” said Belton.

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They’re now launching a civil suit against Quebec City, seeking $180,000 in damages for himself and his family.

“It’s something that I want the court to look at, because we have not a lot of case law where the judges have actually analyzed the effect of racial profiling on the way racialized people are being treated by police officers,” said Belton.

He says this unjustifiable treatment links to racial stereotypes that some police officers may have of Black people that leads to profiling them when it comes to crimes.

“We have an issue of racial profiling among police force here in Canada as well,” he said. “That’s not an opinion. That’s a fact.”

He’s now working to seek justice for people like Pacifique, much like George Floyd, to make sure officers change the way they carry out arrests.

“It’s not something easy, but I think if we bring more awareness, we have more people actually making complaints, hopefully, that will go up to the people who are actually making decisions, our politicians, and we’re hoping to see change.”