by M. Cooke

“I hated that part, blaming the citizens. If the police hadn’t intervened, Fredy would still be alive” said Will Prosper, a community organizer in Montreal Nord, about the coroner’s report in the death of Fredy Villanueva.

The inquest by Quebec Court Judge Andre Perrault investigated the events of August 9, 2008, that led up to a Montreal police officer firing on three unarmed youths and killing Villanueva.

The coroner’s report states that what likely took place on the day Fredy was killed was a simple police intervention and a series of unfortunate events.

“The police officers saw a group of youth playing dice. Without being certain of who’s doing what, officer Lapointe infers that all the individuals were playing dice, including Dany Villanueva [Fredy’s brother]. He decides to intervene to apply a municipal law, which allows him to identify each of the individuals,” states the report.

The report ignores larger issues of racial profiling and police brutality. Nowhere is the seemingly benign municipal law against gambling in parks questioned. The law provides a justification to harass and intimidate youth, particularly in the racialized working-class community of Montreal Nord.

The report goes on to recommend a handful of relatively weak changes to the police force and other government institutions.

Astoundingly, it recommends that youth should be trained in schools on how to behave when they are being questioned for a criminal infraction and informed about the consequences of not providing an officer with identification when under arrest.

“Sure, youth should be taught what their rights are,” says Prosper in an interview with BASICS. “But even if they act within their rights, oftentimes the police will provoke them.”

Disarming the police, or just slowing down how quickly they shoot?

The coroner’s report recommends that police officers be equipped with firearms that fire rounds at a slower pace.

However, Prosper believes that it’s essential to remove firearms from the hands of police officers.

“We never talk about taking away firearms from the police, but I think it’s something we need to talk about,” Prosper told BASICS.

Prosper went on to say that “the police are too fast on the trigger. They are using their guns more often and faster. Their first response in situations is to use their guns, instead of taking the time and talking.”

In “Enquête sur la police”, Stephen Berthomet, an ex-police officer and technical adviser with the union of police officers, states that between 2000 and 2013, 189 people have been killed or severely injured by police officers in Quebec. And 106 of those people were either killed or severely injured by police firearms.

A Special Investigation Unit in Quebec

Since 1999, there have been 416 coroner’s inquests in Quebec. To date, only three officers have been indicted, and not a single one has been convicted.

Community groups have been putting pressure on the government to address this lack of justice. In response, the Parti Quebecois (PQ) is proposing to establish a  ‘Bureau des enquêtes independantes,’ something similar to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) that exists in Ontario.

Prosper is skeptical of the PQ’s proposed changes.  He says that whether you have police officers or ex-police officers investigating police killings, “it’s the same mentality. You need citizens.”

Prosper isn’t the only one who thinks the SIU isn’t working in Ontario. The Ombudsman of Ontario came out with a report critical of the SIU . The Ombudsman reported that “[the SIU’s] credibility as an independent investigative agency is further undermined by the predominant presence and continuing police links of former police officials within the SIU.”

The Ombudsman’s report continued: “the SIU has not only become complacent about ensuring that police officials follow the rules, it has bought into the fallacious argument that SIU investigations aren’t like other criminal cases, and that it is acceptable to treat police witnesses differently from civilians.”

New mayor pays lip service to addressing root causes

Denis Coderre, the new mayor of Montreal, was quoted as saying that Montreal Nord has changed a lot since Fredy’s death. He says that as mayor, he hopes to reduce the poverty and marginalization in that area.

But Coderre has been in Montreal Nord all along. He was the federal representative of the Bourassa district, which is in Montreal Nord, from 1997 to 2013.

“What has Coderre done? He’s talked a lot. He’s on twitter, but he hasn’t done anything concrete that helps people in Montreal North,” Prosper told BASICS.

“There have been cosmetic changes, such as new soccer fields, but nothing that addresses the root of the problem. The unemployment rate for youth is steadily increasing,” he adds.

“To fight poverty, it takes political leadership,” says Prosper. “Hopefully, the population will organize themselves. If we can work on these issues, we could make a difference, but if we wait for politicians, nothing will change.”

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