Man alleges to have been beaten by 10 Longueuil police officers and racially profiled

Turell Daye, 28, alleges that he was stopped and assaulted by 10 Longueuil police (SPAL) officers on September 14, 2023.

“I started hearing shuffling sounds behind me,” said Daye at a press conference organized by the Red Coalition. “I turned to see what was behind me and was faced with ten police officers from the SPAL surrounding me.”

The alleged incident occurred at 5:45am while he was walking to work along Front street and Jean-Béliveau on Montreal’s south shore.

“They eventually threw me to the ground where an officer put his knee on my back to restrain me, where they had put two sets of cuffs on me,” explained Daye, adding, “I was in fear of my life and screaming in hopes of attracting the attention of any passers-by or my colleague who was expecting me that morning so that someone could witness what was happening to me.”

“They searched my duffle bag without my consent,” he added, in a press release. “All I had in there were my tools. I’m a furniture installer.”

Daye described that he was never informed of the reason why he was being stopped, nor given an explanation for why he was being placed under arrest. Daye alleges that he was taken to the police station in handcuffs where he remained in custody for 2.5 hours. He also alleges that he was denied his rights to contact a lawyer without delay and never formally placed under arrest for anything.

The twenty-seven-year-old explained that he was ultimately given three tickets amounting to $747 in fines for walking on the roadway, spitting on the sidewalk and swearing at a police officer.

“I was released with three tickets for various things that they claimed I did while violating my human rights,” said Daye.

“In essence, our son was snatched off the street without an explanation,” said Francine Auclair, Daye’s mother. “Disrespected and brutalized by the very people that are put in place to serve and protect him. He was traumatized for merely commuting to work while black.”

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“Here we are once again shedding light on this shameful abuse of power by law enforcement in the province of Quebec, where black and other visible minorities are continually faced with the phenomenon of racial profiling,” said Joel DeBellefeuille, the founder and executive director of the Red Coalition.

Daye said that he returned to the SPAL police station later the same day with his father to get an explanation from the supervisor. Daye explained that racial profiling was completely refuted by the supervisor. He said that he was told that the police actions were due to the fact that he had not complied to the satisfaction of the police officers.

“The SPAL brags about its “Project RESO” which is supposed to be about getting closer to the community! Here they showed no change in behaviour,” said Alain Babineau, the director of Racial Profiling & Public Safety for the Red Coalition.

“They saw and selected Daye as a “suspect”, used undue and excessive force that caused him injuries, refused to believe him, and then slammed him with a week’s pay worth of fines to punish him for having the audacity to allege they had racially profiled him,” he added.

In a statement sent by email to CityNews the Longueuil police force said: “The SPAL has taken note of the elements mentioned at the press conference organized by the Red Coalition Inc. We are very sensitive to their concerns. However, the file concerning the events is still under investigation. Several verifications and validations are still underway. For this reason, we will not be in a position to comment.”

The Red Coalition says it plans to file complaints with the Police ethics commission and the Quebec human rights commission.

“The message this government is sending to police services in this province in so many different ways is the following: Keep on keeping on. We’ve got your back. Well, the R.C. is on that back and we shall not get off until the change will come,” said Babineau.