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
Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Feeling older than you are? It could be how you sleep
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
OPP seize $7.5 million worth of drugs in eastern Ontario
The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police says one person is facing multiple charges after a traffic complaint on Highway 17 in Head Clara Maria Township.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Why Kim Kardashian is being sued for 'knockoff' furniture
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.