Montreal's head of public security is standing behind the Montreal police chief and his force for the time being.

Anie Samson’s proclamation comes after repeated calls by the opposition for Pichet to step down and the SPVM to be put under trusteeship.

Projet Montreal said Tuesday it wanted police trusteeship on the agenda of Montreal's public security commission.

Bernard Lamothe, deputy director of the Montreal police department's strategic division, was suspended last week and an investigation was launched into allegations of fabrication of evidence by officers in the internal affairs division and other possible wrongdoing in the force.

There have still been calls, however, for the Quebec government to put the force under trusteeship pending the outcome of that investigation, citing a lack of confidence in the force and its chief, Philippe Pichet.

Public security committee chairperson Anie Samson said the city has confidence in the majority of the 4,600 police officers who get up every day and do a good job, adding that putting the force under trusteeship while an investigation is underway would be ridiculous.

“They areallegations,” she said. “So they have to make an inquiry, they have to surveil. They have to have all the information and after that we're going to have a big portrait of what's going on.”  

Projet Montreal councillor Alex Norris, however, said his party isn’t satisfied.

Norris said Pichet should have already stepped down after the scandal of tapping journalists phones was revealed last year and he accused the Coderre administration of not allowing elected officials to see what is going on now by not opening the doors of the city's public security commission.

“In taking that position, the Coderre administration is reinforcing this culture of secrecy at the top of the SPVM. We think it's an unhealthy culture which is at the root of the broader problems we're seeing within the police force,” he said.

Samson said any police officers found to have broken the law in these latest allegations will be punished.