Montreal mayor calls police racism allegations ‘extremely disturbing,’ asks for calm

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

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

In Nisku

Wolf Creek Drivers Compete Among Alberta's Best at Provincial Bus Road-eo

21h ago

Lasting legacy

John Johnston retires after 43 years with Youth HQ

22h ago

Crop emergence well underway

Seeding complete in central Alberta

22h ago

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