Judge rules out racial profiling in arrest
But government-commissioned report notes `dysfunctions' in police procedure
Mamadi Fara Camara was not the victim of racial profiling, according to a report commissioned by the Quebec government. In the document, Quebec Superior Court Judge Louis Dionne concludes that Camara, who was arrested and wrongfully accused of the disarming and attempted murder of police officer Sanjay Vig in January, “was not subjected to differential treatment based on race, skin colour or ethnic origin.”
Camara was arrested by Montreal police on Jan. 28 after his car was pulled over by Vig on Crémazie Blvd. W. He was issued a $500 ticket for using a cellphone while driving. Camara was then alleged to have disarmed Vig and fired the weapon at him. Among the charges laid against him was using a firearm in an attempted murder.
Camara spent six days in prison, but was released on Feb. 3 when new evidence showing a third person at the scene led Quebec's office of criminal prosecutions to stay the charges.
Two days later, police Chief Sylvain Caron apologized publicly to Camara and again to his family.
Dionne's report contains 18 recommendations, including 12 addressed to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, two to the École nationale de police du Québec and four to the Public Security Ministry.
The report states Vig had “reasonable motives” to intercept Camara's car, and that the officers who arrested Camara after the altercation had “reasonable motives and probable cause” to do so.
It further affirms that the numerous police officers and the major crimes investigators who arrived at the scene in the 15 minutes after
Vig radioed for help were acting in “extraordinary circumstances.”
Given the information received from the main investigator, the prosecutor for the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) “was justified in authorizing the charges brought against Mr. Camara,” according to the report.
During his detention, Camara was treated according to the SPVM'S “modes of functioning,” the report asserts, while adding that Camara could have been offered treatment for his injured cheek as well as clothing for his appearance in court and transfer to the detention centre in Rivière-des-prairies.
The report also notes that the major crimes unit could have put in place an investigative structure inspired by that of the Canadian Police College for serious cases, which could have led to Camara not being detained for so long.
The DPCP responded to the report by emphasizing that none of the recommendations targeted the DPCP specifically, and highlighting the judge's confirmation that the charges against Camara respected the DPCP'S legal norms.
Quebec Public Security Minister and deputy premier Geneviève Guilbault acknowledged receipt of the document on Friday and thanked Dionne for his “vigorous report.”
She said the Public Security Ministry will follow up on the judge's recommendations, many of which align with those of a sweeping report on the state of Quebec's police forces, released in May. “We're working constantly, in tandem with our partners, to assure the security of our population at all times,” Guilbault said in a statement.
The SPVM reacted to the report by saying it had collaborated fully with the investigation and that more than 60 members of the organization had met with Dionne. In a statement, the SPVM underlined the report's assertion that Vig had the necessary motive to stop Camara's car, as did the police who subsequently arrested Camara. The statement also reiterated the finding that there was no racial profiling.
Nonetheless, the SPVM said the report revealed “certain dysfunctions” in police procedure, including “the modes of functioning regarding the management of a major event, as well as the process of exchanging information.” The SPVM will analyze and follow through on the recommendations, notably by “revising certain practices questioned in the report.”
The city of Montreal saluted the SPVM'S willingness to act rapidly on the report's recommendations, saying it would “accompany the SPVM in its wish to apply the recommendations that will make the SPVM a police force attuned to the population, and in which the population can have confidence.”
The city reiterated its “solidarity and support” to Camara, Vig and their families, “who experienced a traumatic episode on Jan. 28.”
In March, the major crimes unit of the SPVM arrested Ali Ngarukiye, 21, in Toronto in connection with the incident and charged him with attempted murder, intentionally discharging a prohibited firearm, disarming a police officer, aggravated assault on a police officer and vehicle theft. Ngarukiye, who is also accused of killing a fellow inmate in June, is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at the request of his lawyers. He will be back in court on Sept. 20.
Camara's arrest elicited a public outcry. In April, the Black doctoral student, who was 31 at the time of the incident, received the Medal of the National Assembly to “underline his civic sense and volunteer work with youth.”
In July, Camara sued the city of Montreal and Quebec's attorney general for $940,000. The lawsuit has six other plaintiffs, including members of Camara's family. With the other plaintiffs included, the amount of damages sought comes to $1.2 million.
Camara's lawyer, Virginie Dufresne-lemire, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
We're working constantly, in tandem with our partners, to assure the security of our population at all times”