POLICE AND THE LAW
Confidence in the honesty of police is essential to the proper functioning of our justice system, and indeed our society. With the measures he announced late Friday, Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux has taken an important step toward reassuring a public shaken by various allegations, including that the very police officers whose job it is to keep their colleagues honest might themselves have flouted the law.
That is what two former Montreal police officers have alleged in a report on the TVA investigative news show J.E. earlier this week: that as they were preparing to act as whistleblowers and reveal information that would have been problematic for senior officers, the force’s internal-affairs division fabricated evidence to discredit and silence them. And that J.E. report, and the initial, more modest investigative measures the government had announced, appear to have opened the floodgates. Coiteux said several new allegations of corruption had just been brought to his attention.
In response, Coiteux announced the broadening of the initial Sûreté du Québec investigation; in addition to the specially selected team, to be advised by Crown prosecutor and possibly the police ethics commissioner, there will now be investigators from several other forces, with a view to avoiding any appearance of conflicts of interest. This investigation is to look into specific cases that could result in criminal charges. The head of the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes will be co-director of the investigation, although the BIE will not be involved.
As well, given concerns that some of the issues may be systemic, Coiteux said there would be a parallel administrative investigation into the internal functioning of the Montreal police force — details to come.
The thought of police fabricating evidence, or otherwise showing no respect for the law they are sworn to uphold, is profoundly unsettling. It is also disturbing to hear reports, from the two whistleblowers and others, of continuing prejudices against detectives of Italian background. There is something illogical at best about the suggestion that Italian officers may not be trusted to investigate Mafiosi; after all, no one would have a problem with FrenchCanadian detectives investigating a predominantly French-Canadian biker gang.
It’s hard to escape the impression that there is a need for a thorough housecleaning at the Montreal police; whether that would be best carried out by the current chief or by a successor remains to be seen. In the final analysis, however, it’s up to our elected officials to see that the wheels of justice turn properly, and that any needed changes are made.
Public trust hangs in the balance — and not only in our police.