Death of 15-year-old in Longueuil sparks renewed calls for police body cameras in Quebec

The death of 15-year-old Noonran Rezayi during a police intervention in Longueuil has reignited a debate over the use of body cameras by officers across Quebec. Advocates argue the devices are essential for transparency and accountability, while critics warn they can create a false sense of oversight.

Across Canada, police services are adopting body cams. The RCMP expects 90 per cent of officers to wear them by the end of next year. The rollout in Quebec has been slower.

“Body cameras are, in my opinion, an essential component of police equipment in the 21st century,” said Alain Babineau, retired RCMP staff sergeant. “We’re lagging behind. I mean, most major police services in this country, including the RCMP have rolled out body cameras for their officers.”

Babineau says cameras can bring clarity to controversial interactions, such as the one in Longueuil.

“Certainly, it would have provided the investigators, BEI Investigators with additional evidence to come to a more wholesome conclusion in their investigation,” said Babineau.

For some experts, the push for cameras misses the larger point.

“If we look at the research on body cameras for the last 15 years, we find unequivocally they don’t reduce police racism, they don’t reduce police violence, and they don’t hold police accountable for the violent incidents that they’re involved in,” said Ted Rutland associate professor of Urban Security and Policing in Canada at Concordia University.

Rutland says the public often overestimates what cameras can actually do.

“If we look at what body cameras have done in practice, 99 per cent of the videos that are captured by body cameras are not used to hold police accountable,” said Rutland. “They’re used to secure the arrest and conviction of low-level crimes that police repress.”

Since the shooting on Sept. 21, the corner of Joseph-Daignault and Monaco streets in Saint-Hubert has become a gathering place for vigils, protests, and community support, serving as a reminder of the recent tragedy.