Achi news desk-
A Quebec judge has ruled that a black man was racially profiled by Montreal police officers (SPVM) during a downtown traffic stop.
On January 28, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., the lawyer Kvodo Yevoa and his 15-year-old daughter were driving a white Mercedes registered to his wife’s company on Sderot Rene-Levesk.
He was stopped at an intersection when two police officers spotted him and decided to follow him a few blocks before turning on their flashing lights, pulling him over and asking for his papers.
According to court documents, the officers said they thought the license might be fake, but their patrol car was not equipped with a computer to run the necessary checks.
They called for backup and two more patrol cars arrived.
In the verdict, it is noted that the police officers asked Yevoa questions about where he was going and who the car belonged to – questions that, according to the judge, were “irrelevant”.
Although Yeboa’s license was valid, he was quickly arrested for providing a false license, handcuffed and put in the back of one of the patrol cars.
The officers also claimed they thought he was using a cell phone while driving and he was charged with violating Section 443.1 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code.
The judge concluded that the behavior of the officers during the intervention showed clear indications that Bua had been racially profiled.
In addition, the verdict shows that one of the police officers was wearing a body camera that recorded the incident.
Although she shared the footage with colleagues via WhatsApp, this video, along with surveillance footage from a nearby hotel, was never recorded as evidence.
“Hiding body camera footage is a serious denial of justice and an indicator of conscious racial profiling,” the verdict ruled. “Hiding surveillance footage from the hotel is a serious denial of justice and an indicator of conscious racial profiling.”
CTV News reached out to the Montreal Police Department for comment, and the force acknowledged the court decision.
“As in any other court case, there is a 30-day limit for appealing a decision,” the force said. “We will take the time to analyze it and let the legal process take its course. We will not make any further comments at this stage.”