Montreal police misconduct investigations

The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) is facing multiple investigations into officer misconduct and discriminatory behavior.

In late September, the SPVM submitted evidence to the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) regarding a 16-member patrol unit at the Station 39 precinct in Montreal-Nord. This unit was previously disbanded following allegations of a “radicalized” subculture characterized by a “code of silence.” Specific allegations included the discriminatory targeting of Black and Arab individuals and reports of officers cutting the hair of detainees to keep as trophies. Four officers have been suspended as the DPCP reviews the evidence for potential criminal charges.

In mid-October, further allegations of humiliating and degrading misconduct emerged. Two officers were suspended following reports that one allegedly urinated on an unhoused person while on duty, and another allegedly took mocking photographs of a suspect during an arrest. Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada described these incidents as “very serious,” stating they “violate the dignity to which everyone is entitled.”