'It's my car. Why am I still being handcuffed?' Man wrongly detained by Montreal police speaks out
When Brice Dossa left a Montreal McDonald's last week and tried to get into his car, he didn't expect to end up in handcuffs.
And he certainly didn't expect that, despite confirming his innocence, officers wouldn't uncuff him right away -- because they didn't have the key.
"I feel traumatized. Humiliated. My human rights [have] been violated. And right now, I don't feel safe around police officers anymore," Dossa told CTV Montreal on Saturday.
On Thursday, plainclothes Montreal police officers detained Dossa, a Black man, who they suspected of stealing his own vehicle.
But when the time came, the officers didn't have the key to uncuff him.
"I asked them, 'so, it's my car. Why am I still being handcuffed? Is it because I'm a Black man?'" Dossa recounted.
The key was eventually delivered and Dossa was released without charges.
A video of a handcuffed Dossa circulated widely on social media, prompting outrage from activists, elected officials and the Montreal community.
The video does not show the circumstances leading up to the detainment. But according to Dossa, he was caught completely off guard, alleging police gave him little to no information on what was going on.
"I saw a gentleman come from behind, pulling my right hand at the back. [I said], 'What's going on here?'" he recounted.
"The police did not introduce themselves, and say 'I'm police, I'm here for this and that. Give me the papers of the vehicle.' They didn't ask anything. They just harassed me, aggressively, handcuffed me, without even telling me what is happening."
A Tweet from the Montreal police service (SPVM) claims the vehicle lock showed "typical and obvious attempted theft marks," prompting officers to investigate.
"Before they could finish their checks, a citizen walked up to it to take possession of it," another Tweet reads.
"It was at this time that he was temporarily detained for investigation by the two police officers. The citizen was released unconditionally and without charge once the checks were completed."
The SPVM is now conducting a probe into the circumstances surrounding the event.
Quebec's public safety minister, François Bonnardel, is also looking into the incident, his office said in a statement over the weekend.
Dossa says the experience left him with deep scars and he hopes to see consequences for the people involved.
"This cannot be [swept] under the carpet."
With files from CTV News' Joe Lofaro and Luca Caruso-Moro.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.