Quebec coalition filing racial profiling complaint against Terrebonne police over traffic stop
A Quebec man is planning to file a complaint against Terrebonne police after he says he was racially profiled in late October.
Holly Seme said he videotaped the interaction because it's not the first time he's been followed or stopped by police. He said it has happened on about 10 other occasions.
"They wait for me, they follow me, and then they pull me over," Seme said.
This time he was stopped on Oct. 31 in the early hours of the morning, after exiting Highway 25 near Gascon and Moody Streets.
He'd been on his way home after wrapping up a recording session in Montreal.
Seme shared the video with CTV News. It starts with him asking a police officer why she's pulling him over today.
The officer, he said, wouldn't give him a straight answer to his question.
"I asked her for a reason again and she said I didn’t do my stop correctly. She also spoke to me about being drunk," Seme said.
Seme said, however, he hadn't been drinking that night, and that police eventually gave him a ticket for having expired car insurance.
When he realized he had given the Terrebonne officer the wrong insurance papers he tried to correct his mistake, but the police officer was already walking back to her patrol car and so he stayed put in his vehicle.
"If I had come out of the car, maybe they would take it as a threat. There’s a lot of things you can’t do because you’re Black," Seme said.
The Red Coalition, a group that works to fight racial profiling by police in Quebec, is advocating for the Terrebonne resident in this case.
"Where the act of racial profiling comes out is the fact that when she returned to the vehicle she only gave him a ticket for insurance. Where she didn’t even mention insurance prior to that," said Joel Debellefeuille, the group's founder.
The coalition said the problem of racial profiling, in particular, while the person is in a moving vehicle, stems from article 636 of Quebec's Highway Safety Code, which allows police officers to randomly pull over drivers.
"(Article) 636 doesn’t require the police officer to have any type of motives, reason, causes — nothing. That’s the problem," said Alain Babineau, the organization's director of racial profiling and public safety.
That article is now at the centre of a legal battle. A judge recently invalidated random roadside stops by Quebec police forces but the province has decided to appeal the decision.
In a statement to CTV News, Terrebonne police confirmed their officer stopped Seme that morning.
“He was stopped under article 636 of Quebec's Highway Safety Code, for the verification of documents since the physical description did not match the owner registered with Quebec's automobile insurance board. The driver was given a ticket for an expired document," the statement read.
Police suggested Seme could file a complaint with the police ethics commissioner if he thinks he was unjustly targeted.
The Red Coalition plans to do just that on his behalf and will file a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission as well.
"We feel that there’s a misuse and misunderstanding of how to apply article 636 by officers when they’re intercepting Black drivers," Debellefeuille said.
Seme also plans to contest the $173 ticket.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
RCMP uncovers plot to sell drones and equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
BREAKING Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Cherry blossoms blooming in Canada: Here's what to know
There is a swaying sea of colour in some cities across Canada, and it's a sure sign of spring: cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Murder charges filed against U.S. woman who crashed into building hosting birthday party, killing 2 kids
A Michigan woman was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and other crimes after prosecutors say she drunkenly smashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a birthday party, killing two young siblings and injuring several other people.
Toronto's police chief clarifies initial statement on Umar Zameer acquittal, says he 'accepts' jury's finding
Toronto's Chief of Police has clarified a statement that he'd hoped for "a different outcome" made just after Umar's Zameer acquittal, telling reporters Tuesday he supports and accepts the jury's finding in the five-week trial.