Montreal man sues, alleging racial profiling, after cops pull guns because his 'bag was heavy'

A video captures Clivens Georges at age 31, on Plamondon St., in a moment of his life that still haunts him.

"I had nightmares for months," he said recently. "Every time I see the police I get nervous."

Georges, a delivery driver, was picking up food at his mother's home on Plamondon when he saw police looking into his car. Things then escalated fast.

"He picks up the food, he comes outside, and he's greeted by six policemen with their guns out, pointed at him," said Georges's lawyer, Kwadwo Yeboah. 

Georges and his mother got few answers about the scare they were given, but police ultimately said they believed Georges had a gun on him, because, police said, his bag looked heavy.

"When they handcuffed me and they put me in the car, they tell me it was the gun, and I'm like, 'Which gun are you talking about? I don't know which gun you're talking about,'" Georges recalled. "He said 'Yeah, you have a gun on you. Your bag was heavy.'"

Georges and his mother are now suing Montreal and the city's police for $90,000, arguing it was a case of racial profiling and that they were put under unnecessary stress.

There was no gun found.

Montreal police declined a request for comment from CTV News about the case, saying it's before the courts and they can't speak about it.

When police let him go, Georges said, they told him it was his lucky day.

"This is a classic case of racial profiling," his lawyer said. The lawsuit alleges Georges was targeted only because of the colour of his skin.

"Can you imagine, as a mother, seeing your son, with eveything we know that happens with Black men and the polic,e watching your son have six guns drawn at him?" Yeboah asked.

The lawyer also said he hopes the lawsuit will spur police to rethink how they respond to situations involving Black Montrealers.