Terrebonne police ordered to pay $15,000 in racial profiling case, and take preventive measures 

The Quebec Human Rights Tribunal ordered the Terrebonne police to pay $15,000 to a Black man who was the victim of racial profiling during a traffic stop incident in December 2020. 

Tribunal judge Johanne Gagnon also ordered the police to collect and publish data on racial profiling and to train police personnel on racial profiling and unconscious bias by an expert, in order to prevent future incidents. 

The case was brought on behalf of the victim, Ted Michel, a city bus driver, by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ). 

“This ruling is significant in the fight against racial profiling and the stigmatization of people from Black communities. Disproportionately stopping Black people at the wheel without any reason is unfortunately a phenomenon that continues to be rampant and that must be eradicated, as these discriminatory practices undermine public confidence in the police,” said Myrlande Pierre, vice-president for the Quebec Charter mandate at CDPDJ, in a press release. 

In its judgement, the tribunal concluded that Michel experienced “differential treatment due to his skin color, his race, and his sex” when he was stopped by two police officers on Dec. 8, 2020. 

Officers Félix Freire and Christopher Le Brasseur were patrolling the area looking for seatbelt violations or illegal use of telephones while driving.  

They stopped Michel even though he had not committed either of those violations, according to the 51-page judgement. 

Michel initially refused to provide his documents and demanded to know why he was stopped, but handed them over after a brief exchange. 

The police officers gave him four tickets totaling over $1,000 for refusing to provide documents and for impeding the work of the officer. 

Judge Gagnon wrote that there was no reason to suspect Michel, especially when other vehicles before him were not subject to a plate check. 

She also found the tickets were unjustified. “Objectively speaking, the police have no reason to proceed in this way, other than to justify their intervention, after the fact, as is often the case when racial profiling is involved,” she wrote. 

Michel was awarded $15,000 in damages including $12,000 in moral damages to be paid by the city. The police officers Le Brasseur and Freire also were each ordered to pay $2,000 and $1,000 respectively as punitive damages. 

The judge also partially accepted CDPDJ’s demands that the City of Terrebonne take concrete steps to address racial profiling like training for the police staff and the publication of data about racial profiling. 

In welcoming the decision, CDPDJ vice-president Pierre also said, “We are particularly pleased that the Tribunal has ordered important measures in the public interest to prevent further racial profiling in Terrebonne. Such discriminatory practices have no place in Terrebonne, or anywhere else.” 

Marie Eve Courchesne, a spokesperson for the city of Terrebonne, told CityNews in an email response that it has taken note of the decision and added that “a series of measures, notably concerning racial profiling, are already well underway and include mandatory training, meetings with cultural communities, information sessions for patrol officers, etc.”