Villanueva ‘deserves to be remembered’
Supporters dismayed memorial park won’t bear his name or image
The mayor of Montreal North announced Thursday that the city will build a park to honour the memory of Fredy Villanueva.
In August, it will have been 10 years since Villanueva was shot to death by a Montreal police officer outside Henri-Bourassa Park.
The police shooting of an unarmed teenager in one of the city ’s poorest boroughs triggered a fierce backlash from the community. Hundreds took to the streets in a protest that erupted in violence.
But if Mayor Christine Black’s intention was to honour Villanueva, it may be hard for onlookers to notice. His name, face or likeness will not appear anywhere in the commemorative park — called Parc de l’Espoir.
“It’s important to remember the good things, but we must also reflect on this tragedy,” Black said. “We want the park to carry the hopes and dreams of all our citizens. But also of those who were affected by the death of Fredy Villanueva and the riots that followed.”
Will Prosper, who formed a committee to support the Villanueva family after Fredy’s death, was disappointed by Thursday’s announcement.
“It’s a slap in the face to be honest,” said Prosper, who coaches football and mentors youth in Montreal North. “We didn’t want anything about the shooting, just a plaque that says, ‘Fredy, you live in our hearts.’ There’s nothing political about that.
“He was a good kid. He worked, he went to school, he was a part of this community and he deserves to be remembered.”
The issue of how to remember the events of Aug. 9, 2008, is something of a political tinderbox in Montreal.
Villanueva was with a group of young men playing dice in the park that day when Const. Jean-Loup Lapointe and his partner approached them. When Villanueva’s older brother Dany went to walk away, Lapointe attempted to arrest him.
He resisted, a fight broke out and Lapointe fired his weapon four times, killing Villanueva. There were procedural breaches during the internal investigation of the incident, but no criminal charges were brought against the officer.
Villanueva’s death did trigger a provincewide conversation about racial profiling and led the Quebec government to change the way officer-involved shootings are investigated.
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, there had been discussions about a mural depicting the area’s history with the possibility of including Villanueva in the painting. Black said Thursday the mural plan has been scrapped.
“We could not reach a consensus when we spoke to various community groups about the work,” she said. “There was no vision of the project that worked for everyone.”
Brunilda Reyes, who runs a nearby food bank, attended meetings about the mural and agreed that there wasn’t consensus on the project. “What I want people to know is that we took this tragedy and we turned it into something positive,” said Reyes, who runs Les Fourchettes de l’Espoir. “We’ve had problems, we lost a great kid, but we’re not where we were 10 years ago.”
When Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said last year that she supported the mural as a way of “building bridges between communities,” Montreal’s police brotherhood offered a stern rebuke.
“Let’s note in passing that there is practically no public trace in Montreal of the 71 officers who died on the job over the years,” said union president Yves Francoeur.
Mayor Black met with Villanueva’s mother two months ago to talk about efforts to honour Fredy.
“She’s a mother who lost her son and had to grieve in a very public way,” Black said.
Black said the city is spearheading a project where local youth can write, draw pictures and make art about Villanueva and put it in a time capsule. The capsule will be buried under the park and unearthed in 2065 to mark Montreal North’s 150th anniversary.
“I think the mayor wants to have it both ways,” said Ricardo Lamour, a member of the Comité de soutien à la famille Villanueva. “I mean, you’re literally burying his memory under the park.”
Prosper said Villanueva’s death is both a tragedy and a reminder of the discrimination that young men and women of colour face every day.
“The kids I work with, they’re just like Fredy. It could have happened to any of them,” Prosper said. “If our politicians can’t have a plaque or a picture of Fredy in a park, how can we have a larger conversation about systemic racism? How can we change the conditions these kids live in?”