Black Lives Matter backs mom’s lawsuit
Toronto mother alleges police illegally raided her home
A slew of about 40 Black Lives Matter TO demonstrators chanted their way into the Toronto Police headquarters Thursday evening and announced a lawsuit.
The plaintiff, Jean Montaque, is a black mother who alleges her home was illegally raided and searched by three Toronto officers in October 2013, human rights lawyer Saron Gebresellassi said.
According to her statement of claim, contents of which have not been proven in court, the officers claimed they were responding to a 911 call from her apartment, which she says was impossible because she had been out taking her kids to school at the time.
Demonstrators said the homes of people in marginalized communities are often raided at random, leading to damage to their belongings. Their collective delivery of legal papers related to the lawsuit was a symbol of that.
After a short announcement outside police headquarters, the group marched in, singing, “Black lives, they matter here,” and, “Indict, convict, send that killer cop to jail; the whole damn system is guilty as hell.”
Gebresellassi approached the counter, where the officer in charge had backed away to speak on the phone. She asked him to accept the statement of claim documents the Toronto Police Service was being served with, but he lifted his hands, saying: “I can’t accept that, sorry.”
Gebresellassi — who had told the crowd whoever was in charge had to accept the legal papers — then chucked the document over the counter before leading the group out.
“It’s rare that a family can actually hire a lawyer and sue, but this family was able to do that, and this sends a message to police officers across Toronto,” she had told the crowd earlier.
Black Lives Matter TO demonstrators have been camping outside the College St. headquarters since Sunday, partly in protest of the Special Investigations Unit’s decision not to lay charges against a Toronto officer who fatally shot 45-yearold Sudanese immigrant Andrew Loku.
Monday evening, police pushed their way past demonstrators to extinguish their campfire and dismantle their tents. Demonstrators say they were peaceful, but the officers acted violently and assaulted some.
“The ways in which Ms. Montaque was violated and the ways in which police entered her home, illegally searched her home, without any search warrant, and terrorized her family, is the same way Toronto Police Services have been treating us in this safe space,” organizer Yusra Khogali said.
Gebresellassi asked the crowd if police Chief Mark Saunders had stopped by their encampment. “No,” they quietly replied.
“Mark Saunders, maybe you want to leave your office, get off the phone, leave your meeting . . . and thank the young people who are here. And maybe you want to make a comment on this lawsuit as well because your police services are under fire right now,” the lawyer said.
Afterward, Black Lives Matter TO member Pascale Diverlus said she knew of others whose homes were raided by police. The way they do it is careless and an invasion of privacy, she said.
“This family, this woman, has opened an entryway for us to share what has been happening to us for years,” Diverlus told the Star.
The rally was later joined by protesters against sexual violence, who marched down Bay St. following Thursday’s verdict acquitting Jian Ghomeshi. With files from Michael Robinson and Wendy Gillis