A 26-year old Kirkland man says he is the victim of racial profiling by the Montreal police.
Andrew Denis-Lynch says he was dropping off his girlfriend and her 15-year old sister at their home in Cote-des-Neiges on the night of March 6th.
They were returning from getting ice cream, and he did a little dance to make his girlfriend laugh while standing beside her car.
Denis-Lynch says that almost immediately a police cruiser pulled up.
The officer started asking him questions about why he was so happy, and if he was drunk.
Denis-Lynch says the officer told him he was creating a dangerous situation by being in the middle of the street.
The couple says that within minutes the situation escalated and the officer called for backup.
“It was really scary, it happened in 2-3 seconds but the way she grabbed him, her facial expression, her tone of voice, she was shouting,” said Helena Backa, Denis-Lynch’s girlfriend.
“I was definitely scared for my safety for when five more cars came up, six cars total,” Denis-Lynch recalled.
He ended up getting a $48 dollar ticket for "being a pedestrian and standing on the roadway to deal with the occupant of a vehicle."
The Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR) is helping Andrew Denis-Lynch to file a complaint with the Police Ethics Commissioner and with the Human Rights Commission.
According to the executive director of CRARR, Fo Niemi, since January his office has seen an increase in complaints from black individuals alleging violent incidents with police.
“There should be questions asked as to whether these incidents are a manifestation of the lack of leadership or lack of commitment at the top and the lack of internal control and internal accountability over how these police officers deal with racialized, particularly young black men, in the street,” said Niemi.
The SPVM would not comment on the allegations but spokesperson Raphael Bergeron said they take all complaints seriously.
