Camara testifies at trial of attempted murder on Montreal police officer

Mamadi Fara Camara, who was wrongfully arrested in Jan. 2021 as a suspect in the attempted murder of a Montreal police officer, is testifying in the trial of Ali Ngarukiye.

Ngarukiye, 23, is accused of the attempted murder of police officer Sanjay Vig.

Camara, 34, then a 31-year-old PhD student on Jan. 28, 2021, was arrested and accused of having disarmed and shot Vig, who had pulled him over for using a cellphone while driving.

When Vig was walking back to his car to issue Camara a ticket, he was then attacked by someone else.

Camara was detained until Feb. 3 and was charged with attempted murder, assaulting a police officer and disarming a police officer. He was ultimately exonerated and cleared of all charges on Feb. 5.

In March, police arrested Ngarukiye in Toronto, after DNA evidence collected from the scene pointed investigators to him – once again fully clearing Camara of any wrongdoing.

“It goes to show that we might have a problem with our judicial system,” says criminal defence lawyer, Kwadwo Yeboah. “Here is this individual who was sitting in his car who called actually because he witnessed the crime and in a few moments, he was arrested, handcuffed and put in to jail.”

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Tuesday marked the second day of Camara’s testimony at the Montreal courthouse, where his cross-examination continued by defence lawyer Sharon Sandiford.

“He has to come now to rememorate himself of all these things that happened to him, it’s pretty traumatizing for an individual,” says Yeboah.

A series of questions were asked regarding where Camara saw the assailant flee. He said he saw the assailant around five metres from a building at the corner of Bloomfield Ave. and Boul. Crémazie in Parc-Extension.

“I was really scared,” he said.

The defence asked for Camara’s 911 call to be played in the courtroom that contained 12 jurors. Camara made the call at 4:59 p.m.

In the call, you can hear Camara saying: “A policeman stopped me and someone came and hit him. I am in my car. The policeman ran and left his car. There was a shot.”

The call, lasting over a minute, was then muffled by police sirens.

“There’s three people that know exactly what happened: the officer, Mr. Camara and the accused on trial,” said Yeboah.

Camara said, at that time, he was trying to get the attention of another police officer. He said he was waiting to receive his ticket, since that is the reason Vig pulled him over.

Camara recounted asking the police officer, “Will you give me my ticket or can I go?” He was then freed, only to be pulled over minutes later. Camara has said he was pulled out of his car by police who had drawn their guns on him.

During the cross-examination, Camara said because of this, he was a victim of racial profiling.

“The way they arrested me, pulling me out of the window,” he said, reinforced his belief of being a victim of racial profiling. “It was so brutal to me.”

“There was an inquiry that was done ordered by the government of Quebec, it was done by a judge,” said Yeboah. “Unfortunately, it came out that it wasn’t a case of racial profiling, but you may ask any person of colour walking in Montreal, they’ll probably have a different opinion, and I do have a difference of opinion on that.”

“They injured me, brutalized me, and did not listen to me,” Camara said in court.

Camara described having his head put in the snow during the arrest. “They put boots on my face, this is the brutality that I didn’t like,” he said.

He said he suffered injuries to his face and when he was brought to the detention centre, staff did not attend to his injuries.

In July 2021, Camara filed a lawsuit against the city and the Attorney General of Quebec for misconduct by Montreal police officers and criminal prosecutors, suing for $1.2 million.

A settlement was reached in Feb. 2022 for an undisclosed amount, putting an end to the legal process.

Camara declined to speak to media as he exited the courtroom. Although, he seemed relieved and celebratory following his testimony. This now possibly fully puts an end to his legal responsibilities surrounding the ordeal.

“This whole thing, even if he settled with the City of Montreal, has had a toll on him,” said Yeboah. “It’s not easy for people that are not used to the court system.”

Officer Vig is expected to testify to the jury in the coming weeks.