CRARR HELPED BLACK YOUTH IN COTE DES NEIGES WIN CASE AGAINST POLICE EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE

Montreal, June 8, 2010 --- A Montreal Police officer has been founded guilty of five police ethics breaches for assaulting and arresting a Black youth in Côte des Neiges in 2008.

In a decision rendered on June 2, 2010, the Police Ethics Committee (an independent administrative tribunal) ruled that Kenny Adolphus Hopkinson, a 21-year old Black youth who was in the Côte des Neiges Plaza with his mother in March 2008, was the target of illegal arrest, intimidation, illegal detention, abusive charge and unjustified force committed by Officer Jonathan Roy.

According the tribunal, Mr. Hopkinson was in the Plaza taking to a friend on the phone when two police officers,including Officer Roy, walked by. Officer Roy heard Mr. Hopkinson say something and engaged in a verbal exchange with the latter; Officer Roy then hit Mr. Hopkinson on his chest after accusing latter for calling him as a “piece of s-t” (both were involved in another incident involving Mr. Hopkinson's younger brother). Officer Roy then proceeded to arrest the young man by wrestling him to the ground and use pepper-spray on him; he later charged Mr. Hopkinson with assaulting a police officer.

After hearing the evidence from the Police Ethics Commissioner, who brought the case on behalf of Mr. Hopkinson against Officer Roy, the tribunal ruled that the evidence weighed in favor of the youth and that Officer Roy violated five different provisions of the Quebec Police Ethics Code.

Sanctions against Officer Roy for violating the Code will be rendered by the end of summer.

In addition to the police ethics complaint, Mr. Hopkinson also mandated CRARR to file a civil rights complaint against Officer Roy. The case is still being investigated by the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission.

Côte des Neiges is a district of Montreal with a large racialized and immigration population. It is also an area that has given rise to numerous complaints of racial profiling, police excessive use of force, harassment and related abuse of power (in 2006 and 2008, CRARR also helped two other Black residents win their police ethics complaints against local police officers for excessive use of force and illegal arrest). CRARR presently has 6 other complaints pending against police officers and 2 against public transit inspectors working in this area, all involving Black Montrealers.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/guilty+ethics+breaches+commission+ru...

http://www.canoe.com/archives/infos/societe/2010/06/20100609-181643.html