The Black Coalition of Quebec wants to launch a class action lawsuit against the Montreal police for racial profiling.
The coalition says dozens of Montrealers have been treated unfairly by the police and in some cases violently.
The coalition said the Montreal police have systematically refused to eliminate racial profiling, adding that it is fed up with what it said is declining interest from police to stop using race as a factor when investigating a potential suspect.
On Dec. 31, a 26-yr-old black man was shot in the back of the head and in his back downtown. He survived, but remains in hospital.
Police said he shot at them first, but the coalition said that the fact he was shot in the back proves he was not an imminent threat.
The coalition says there are about 10 cases of blatant discrimination by police over the past year
“In cases where there is racial profiling, where there is abuse of power, arrest without justification, we have many cases and when we take these cases to the Ethics Commission, it's a waste of time,” said Dan Philip, president of the Black Coalition of Quebec.
The Montreal police commander in Montreal North said Wednesday night that he has zero tolerance for racial profiling, but the coalition argued that has yet to happen
Any class action would have to be approved by a judge first before it could be debated in court.
The case comes as the Quebec Human Rights Commission has ruled a police officer must pay $17,000 in damages to a young black man.
