Montreal Haitian groups demand meeting with police chief amid SPVM racism allegations
Posted June 15, 2026 11:14 am.
Last Updated June 15, 2026 5:51 pm.
A group of Haitian community organizations is requesting an “urgent meeting” with the head of the SPVM following allegations of racism within the Montreal police force.
The Regroupement des intervenants et intervenantes d’origine haïtienne (RIIOH) wants to sit down with SPVM Chief Fady Dagher to present recommendations “aimed at restoring trust.”
The coalition is not revealing what these recommendations are until they speak with Dagher, but said it would make them public after meeting with the police chief.
On Friday, Dagher announced two officers from Station 39 in Montreal North had been suspended following allegations of discriminatory and racist behaviour toward residents of the borough.
The two officers could face criminal charges and their case is being reviewed by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
Dagher specified that 14 other officers from the same station had been transferred or reassigned to duties that do not require any contact with the public.
Several media outlets have reported certain details, including that police officers allegedly cut the hair of racialized people to use it as “trophies.” Dagher stated at a press conference that this was “part of the allegations.”
“Obviously there’s a cell of resistance within this police station,” alleged Fo Niemi, the executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR). “There are officers who went rogue, who may still be going rogue against the chain of command and I think that has to be dealt with.
“Eventually if the results are justified we hope that these officers who have been found liable, guilty, responsible will not only be fired from the police department but that they will also be expelled from the police profession because we need to defend the integrity of the profession.”
On Monday, the RIIOH called the allegations “serious, outrageous, and unacceptable,” and said they raised “important systemic questions. “
“They confirm what citizens, families, young people, stakeholders and community organizations in Montreal North have been denouncing for years: the existence of discriminatory behaviours and practices that have contributed to unjustifiably penalizing a large number of residents, particularly those from the Black and Arab communities,” co-spokesperson Sheilla Fortuné said.
“For too long, the testimonies of people claiming to have been victims of racial profiling, discrimination or differential treatment, and violence have been minimized, questioned, or ignored. Today, the information made public demonstrates that the concerns expressed by the community for many years deserved to be heard and taken seriously.”
An investigation by the SPVM is ongoing, Dagher indicated Friday.
Quebec’s Minister of Internal Security Ian Lafrenière said he will appoint an independent observer to follow the various stages of the investigation and that depending on what is reported, other processes remain such as transferring the investigation to another police force or the BEI, Quebec’s police watchdog.
Lafrenière also did not rule out a public inquiry if the investigation does not shed full light on the events.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has been calling for an independent investigation.
“We do need to make sure that citizens know that there is an independent process during the inquiry,” the mayor told reporters at city hall Monday. “After that, we will be asking the Commission of the Public Safety to meet this week very quickly in order to ask some questions to the SPVM, among others, if there’s a plan on fighting against discrimination profiling. What can we do as a city, that’s important. Thirdly, making sure that anything that will come out from this inquiry will be transparent, open to the public, because it’s a part of how we’re going to rebuild the trust with citizens.
“I think many Montrealers are angry this morning. Many Montrealers have lost confidence. And it’s upon us to make sure that we are working with the SPVM to rebuild that trust.”
CityNews spoke to some Montrealers who suspect the issues exist in the city and beyond.
“This is not a Montreal North problem. This is a problem for Black men, Black women, racialized people all across the province,” said Svens Telemaque.
“What we heard on Friday evening is something that we’ve never seen, cases like that. Collecting dreads as a trophy, this is like street gang things,” added Montreal North resident Samuel Bunche.
Earlier Monday, the Quebec Liberal Party also called for an investigation to be conducted independently by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). “Allowing the SPVM to investigate its own members in a case of this nature would not meet the public’s expectations for transparency and independence,” according to the party.
–With files from La Presse Canadienne
