Racism allegations at SPVM: Montreal police chief addresses public meeting

Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher met with residents and city officials at City Hall Tuesday to answer questions about allegations of racism and misconduct at Station 39 in Montreal North. And for many in the community, this moment has been a long time coming.

“We want to know more details if I’m really broad about what happened at the PDQ 39. Hoodstock is based in Montreal, so we have people from our organization who are looking for answers, not a PR mechanism but real answers and an action plan regarding what happened and what has been happening in Montreal, especially when we’re talking about PDQ 39,” said Cassandra Exumé, the general coordinator of Hoodstock.

As Chief Dagher provided an update on the situation in Montreal North, several local politicians were also in attendance, including Montreal North borough Mayor Christine Black, public safety lead Jim Beis and opposition leader Ericka Alneus.

“There is an accountability on the SPVM and the current administration of the mayor, Martinez Ferrada, to make sure that this never happens again,” said Alneus.

Some people arrived hours before the meeting started to make sure they could get a chance to speak. Yanick Galan, from the Rivière-des-Prairies organization Le Phare, was one of them.

“There have been plenty of training sessions over the years, but people are looking for more than training. They want to see real action and real change on the ground,” said Galan.

Charlotte Cartron-Delmare, a family support worker at Le Phare, said, “The situation is very tense. We’re here today to support our colleagues in Montreal North and to show that this goes beyond a single incident. This is a systemic issue, and at this point, the argument that it’s just an isolated case doesn’t hold up anymore.”

It wasn’t long before the room was packed. Some attendees were redirected to an overflow room, while others waited outside. Residents shared personal stories and pressed the Montreal Police Chief for answers on how the force plans to move forward.

“For the last question, why a white person’s thing is more important or black person?” asked Jean Parris, a Montrealer. “I am here because this issue and the subject of racism is an issue that touches the core of my heart.”

“It’s really hard for me and for people from Hoodstock to talk about building trust; it’s really more about bringing answers to our community,” said Exumé.

Alneus said, “We have to have hope. If there’s this commission, we need to have hope. We have to acknowledge that there’s some stuff that we’re done that are terrible, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up.”