Seatbelt ticket in alleged racial profiling case dismissed

Issued more than 18 months ago

A ticket for not wearing a seatbelt that the accused was preparing to argue was in fact a case of racial profiling was dismissed Monday in Longueuil municipal court for overly long delays.

Prosecutor Daniel Gauthier suggested the case against Joel DeBellefeuille be dismissed because the ticket had been issued more than 18 months ago, surpassing the maximum delay suggested by the Supreme Court of Canada. DeBellefeuille’s case for a $126 ticket had been put off five times. DeBellefeuille, who said he was wearing his seatbelt, was set to argue that the ticket was a lie fabricated by the police to justify pulling him over on the South Shore in October 2015 because he was black and driving a BMW.

DeBellefeuille received extensive media coverage in 2012 after he fought and won another ticket against him. The judge ruled in his favour on the basis that he had been pulled over by Longueuil police because he was black. The officers were later suspended for five days following an investigation by Quebec’s police ethics commission.

DeBellefeuille brought another case before the commission when he was trailed for 11 blocks by police as he drove his son to daycare in 2012. The case was dropped when one of the police officers, since fired, could not be found. DeBellefeuille has brought the latest incident, involving the seatbelt ticket before the ethics committee and Quebec’s human rights tribunal. The cases are waiting to be heard.