Montreal's new police chief Philippe Pichet wants officers to be equipped with body cameras in an attempt to crack down on excessive force.
The move follows that of several other forces in Canada and the United States.
“We’re going to have a pilot project beginning in the next few months,” he said. “The committee just took place, we’re going to evaluate where we put them at first and then evaluate the managed parts around that.”
Accusations of excessive force are something Chief Pichet is familiar with due to his time planning the SPVM’s tactics during Occupy Montreal in 2011 and the student protests of 2012. The police frequently faced charges that their use of kittling and large-scale arrests were unconstitutional. Pichet said there was no way to make everyone happy when deciding how police would respond to the student protesters.
"We had more than 700 protests during that year," he said.. "Sometimes more than one during the same day. When you're in charge of those types of protests you have to make some decisions. It's always the thin line between the right to protest and the right to protect your business or your home or just make sure you can walk everywhere."
The new chief said he understood concerns from both sides in the ongoing fight over pensions that has seen members of the SPVM wear camouflage for over a year.
"I had the chance to meet over 100 employees since last August and I had the chance to not only hear my people but feel that we are all proud of what we're doing right now," he said. "We decided to become police officers, we studied for it and we have the privilege to serve citizens."
Pichet, 47, was sworn in this past August.
