Appeals galore in alleged police racism case

Montreal's police ethics committee is likely to appeal against a recent Quebec Court decision to overturn the committee's recommendation two police officers who had made inconvenient or improper remarks to a prominent member of the black community in Dollard des Ormeaux and two of her friends be suspended for a collective four days without pay. "(The police ethics commissioner) was going to depose a request to review the court's decision, it should in fact already be done by now," said Louise Letarte, a lawyer and media spokesperson with the police ethics committee.

The case dates back to November 2004, when six police officers raided the home of Dollard resident Gemma Raeburn based on a mistaken call by a neighbour that three people wearing "black things" on their faces were committing a burglary in broad daylight.

In fact, Raeburn and two of her friends Frederick Peters and Peter Charles, also black, were rearranging her garage for the winter, moving boxes from it to her backyard cabana.

The officers in question raided the home and pointed their weapons at the three friends. "Bullets don't see colour" was one of the contentious remarks, made by officer Roger Carbonneau when he was asked by Raeburn whether they would have come in with guns drawn if the police report they had received would have been about white people robbing a house.

The other remark, made by officer Isabelle Nault, was made to Peters when she caught him in the backyard and ordered him to put his hands up. "If you don't like it here, why are you here? Why don't you go back to your country?" She asked, when Peters complained he used to be a cop in his native Grenada and such shabby treatment by police officers was unheard of there.

In 2007, the police ethics committee had sentenced Carbonneau to a day without pay, and Nault to three days without pay. Both had appealed the decision.

In its decision, the Quebec Court said the sentences imposed on both officers were too severe. "As unfortunate or awkward as the expression used by Carbonneau may be, it is not disrespectful or impolite in the context it was used in," wrote judge Mark Shamie. Carbonneau was completely expunged of blame.

As for Nault, the court ruled her words were inappropriate, but the sentence too strict, and reduced it to a fault.

Meanwhile, Raeburn, Peters and Charles are awaiting a summons by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal along with a minority advocacy group called the Centre for Research and Race Relations, which had helped them file a lawsuit against the City of Montreal with the Quebec Human Rights Commission.

This summer, the commission had ruled Montreal owed each of the three $20, 000 in compensation, but the city did not meet an August deadline to pay the money. "I can't talk about why the city is contesting the decision," said Montreal spokesperson Darren Becker, but he confirmed Montreal is awaiting the summons by the Tribunal to make its case.

CRARR executive director Fo Niemi said the Quebec Court decision could set a dangerous precedent, sending the message that "it's not that bad for a police officer to tell a member of an ethnic group to 'go back to your own country.' "

Niemi was also concerned Montreal would use the Quebec Court decision to argue the police was not racist in any way in its attitude.