The Award for Canada’s Most Racist Police of 2019 Goes to The Gatineau Police
The Gatineau Police have received recognition as Canada’s most racist police of 2019. This “award” was conferred on them by the Canadian Business Daily, for constantly harassing black and other disenfranchised members of the society.
According to the report, a black male was driving late at night on Boulevard Maloney in Gatineau, when he was followed and subsequently stopped by Officer Bergeron of the Gatineau Police, with badge number 5708. When the black male asked why he was stopped, Officer Bergeron replied that it was because he saw that he was driving a “rented car.”
When the driver pointed out that “driving a rented car” in no way constitutes a criminal offence or grounds for a police officer to stop anyone, Officer Bergeron replied that he, as a representative of the Gatineau Police Department, could essentially stop him for any reason, including the fact that the male was driving a rented vehicle. At this point, it was evident that the young black male was a victim of racial profiling.
The Gatineau police have been accused of constantly profiling black males and other disenfranchised populations simply so that the police can check their driver’s license. Many of these officers erroneously believe that black males must be criminals on the loose, out on bail, or wanted by the police.
Also recently, a black male was stopped by two Gatineau police officers because he was walking across the grass of a commercial establishment. Fortunately, the black male was well-versed in the law and responded that walking across the grass was not a violation of the Canadian Criminal Code, and asked what the problem was. The officers replied, “Nothing,” and left the man alone. It was apparent that they had been expecting to confront someone who was not as educated about his rights.
Gatineau police officers have actually ticketed a black male for “not walking on the sidewalk” of a Gatineau residential neighbourhood. And there has been yet another case of a black male who was rushing back to a restaurant after using the washroom? The man was questioned by the police for fifteen minutes, for “walking funny.” As if this wasn’t enough racial profiling for one night, this same black male was stopped again on the same night, by two other Gatineau police officers, in a very quiet residential area, insisting that the black male didn’t cross exactly at the intersection.
It is only in Gatineau, that the police constantly harass black males for reasons as flimsy as not liking the sound of their car. How is the Gatineau’s police force any better than the racists who stalked black people during the 1950s in parts of the American South?
The list of racist behaviours by the Gatineau Police, which includes illegal detentions and beatings of disenfranchised civilians, are all too familiar. The police force has amassed a long rap sheet of harassment.
It can be recalled that in 2017, CBC News, reported that Gatineau police officer, Const. Charles Carpentierwas suspended for only 6 days after he told a Muslim man that Arabs were parasites and that his breath smelled.