Montrealers allege 'racial profiling' during police intervention on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day
Organizers of a Montreal Caribbean festival are looking for clarity from police as to why a large group of officers interrupted their pre-festival barbecue on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day.
"It was like a swarm of bees," said party organizer Gemma Raeburn-Baynes, vice-president of the Spice Island Cultural Day Association of Quebec.
While police say they were there to investigate a noise complaint, organizers told CTV they were puzzled and disappointed by the police presence, which they felt was unusually large as compared to their party.
In a video sent to CTV News, several Montreal officers, as well as others from the RCMP, are seen speaking to partygoers in front of several police vehicles parked nearby the venue – a restaurant parking lot off Saint-Jacques Street in Lachine.
"To me, I think I think it was racial profiling," said Raeburn-Baynes, who estimated there were about 15 officers at the intervention.
"It just didn’t make sense and even if as I said, the first cop said it was two complaints of noise. I mean, it was 8:30, it was St-Jean Baptist. Everybody in their backyard was having an event."
She suggested that if there really was an issue with noise, they could have sent one police car to ask them to turn down the music "and be on their merry way."
She says police arrived at around 8:40 p.m. on June 24. The party was a fundraiser for the Spice Island Cultural Festival set to commence next weekend. People had gathered to barbeque and celebrate the holiday. Raeburn-Baynes said they were not selling alcohol.
"Children were playing in the yard, parents were there, mothers and fathers and seniors and young people, and they got scared (by the officers)," she said. "It was really disheartening. It killed the party, we had such good vibes."
A DJ was there, but “the music was not excessive,” she said, adding that partygoers could hear music coming from other Saint-Jean parties nearby over their own.
"I don’t know if I’m too sensitive," she said, "but I really thought that it was because we were Black and we were gathered together.”
“It was really disheartening. It killed the party,” she added. “After the police left, everybody left. The DJ turned off his music and packed up his stuff.”
Montreal police confirmed officers “went to an establishment on Saint-Jacques St.” in a statement to CTV.
"After having made the organizer of the event aware of the noise in the parking lot of the establishment, the officers left the premises without issuing any statement of offence," read the statement.
Among those responding officers were members of the ÉCLIPSE unit, which specializes in fighting violent crime. Montreal’s police department says they were there as part of an over-arching strategy to increase "the population’s sense of security."
"As part of the CENTAURE strategy, police officers from the ÉCLIPSE unit, accompanied by partners from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), make sporadic visits to various bars and restaurants in the city," read the statement.
"The ECLIPSE unit provides support to the units, collects information and intelligence, and increases police visibility and the population's sense of security."
But this intervention didn’t achieve that goal, according to Alain Babineau, spokesperson and coordinator on issues of racial profiling and public safety for anti-racism group The Red Coalition.
"The way they went about it is totally counter-productive to any form of community policing,” he said. “(It’s) counter-productive any type of community relations that you’re trying to establish."
Babineau called the intervention an example of “over-policing.”
"'Over-policing' is simply an iteration of racial profiling, where a particular community is over-policed with this belief that they could be involved in criminality."
Raeburn-Baines told us they have asked police to please not repeat the incident when their event, sponsored by Grenada Tourism and the City of Montreal, unfolds July 8-10. On Thursday afternoon, she said they hadn’t yet received a reply.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Courteney Cox says her partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in therapy
Courteney Cox's longtime partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in a therapy session.
Are Canadians getting sick from expired food?
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.