Montreal mayor wants to speed up body camera initiative after police racism allegations

Montreal mayor wants to speed up body camera initiative after police racism allegations.

MONTREAL — Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada on Saturday denounced alleged discriminatory and racist behaviour by a Montreal police unit toward residents, saying it highlights the persistence of systemic racism as an investigation into 16 police officers revs up.

At a city hall news conference, Ferrada called the allegations “extremely disturbing” and said trust between police and citizens has been shaken.

“What we saw is totally unacceptable,” she told reporters.

“The worry, anger and questions this situation raises are perfectly normal,” she said, calling for “calm and responsibility.”

“Montrealers deserve to know the whole truth about what happened. That is precisely what I want this investigation to do.”

On Friday evening, senior Montreal police officials moved to disband a night patrol unit in the city’s Montréal-Nord borough, suspending two police officers and reassigning 14 others after instances of alleged racial profiling and prejudice.

The two suspended officers are under investigation by the prosecutor’s office regarding possible violations of the Criminal Code.

Police Chief Fady Dagher said Friday that 14 other officers were reassigned to tasks that do not require contact with citizens involved in the investigation.

The probe into police at Station 39 began in March, following information obtained by fellow officers.

On Friday, La Presse and Radio-Canada reported that officers cut the hair of racialized citizens to turn it into “trophies,” among other allegations.

Ferrada said she and Quebec Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière have agreed to ramp up deployment of body cameras at Montreal’s police force.

“Profiling, discrimination, racism unfortunately still exists in many institutions, not only the SPVM,” she said, pointing to personal experience.

“I’m a woman of colour. I’m in a relationship with a Black man. I can tell you all about profiling; we’ve experienced it first-hand.”

The mayor also said she took some comfort in the fact it was other officers who reported the alleged wrongdoing.

“That is for me a sign of change in terms of the organization itself,” she said.

“Let’s not put everybody in the same boat. There’s good police officers.”

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said Friday the reports were “extremely concerning” and called for a full investigation.

“The alleged actions, if confirmed, are incompatible with the values of respect and integrity that must guide the conduct of all our police forces,” she said in a late-night post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2026.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press