LONGUEUIL - A South Shore man who says he was the victim of racial discrimination by Longueuil police officers has been found guilty by Longueuil municipal court of declining to provide his identification to police.
Joel Debellefeuille he says he was unfairly targeted because he was driving a BMW and his name doesn't match the colour of his skin.
Debellefeuille, a black man who was adopted by Quebecois parents, says he was doing nothing wrong when he was stopped in July 2009 by police officers while on his way to get ice cream with his family in Greenfield Park. When they asked him for his ID, he refused to provide it.
Debellefeuille said he felt discriminated against and argued with the officer, only to end up with two tickets – one for refusal to hand over his ID and another because his insurance has expired two days prior.
Debellefeuille paid for the expired insurance ticket, contested the refusal to provide ID ticket in municipal court.
He lost that case Tuesday in front of Longueuil municipal court judge Marc Gravel, who ordered him to pay the fine.
Debellefeuille has filed complaints with both the Human Rights Commission and the Longueuil police and is seeking $30,000 in damages.
