In a 2007 Léger Marketing poll ranking professions based on public trust, police officers received 84 per cent. Two years later (and after the Villaneuva shooting), that confidence had dropped to 72 per cent. “In general, Quebeckers have confidence in police officers, but when it comes to incidents (like shootings) involving police officers, Quebeckers have less confidence in the impartiality of the inquests,” says Quebec’s provincial ombudsman Raymonde Saint-Germain.
Last February, Saint-Germain published a report on the Quebec investigative procedure into incidents involving police officers causing death or serious injury. Her conclusion: the status quo is inacceptable. Currently, the Sûreté du Québec (the provincial police) is charged with these inquests. Such is not the case in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, which all have independent investigative bodies. Critics say Quebec’s system of police investigating the police inevitably favors them over civilians.
“The treatment accorded to implicated police officers and the treatment accorded to implicated civilians is different,” says Saint-Germain. She explains how civilians present at the scene are separated and interrogated as soon as possible. Whereas, in both the Villanueva and Limoges cases, the police officers involved were only questioned days after the incident and had the opportunity to corroborate their stories. The latter were also given quicker and easier access to lawyers. Alexandre Popovic of the Coalition contre la répression et les abus policiers adds that civilians involved in the Villanueva shooting were treated as suspects; the police as witnesses.
“We have to face the reality that the actual justice system protects the police,” says Popovic. The Coalition has followed the trajectory of complaints filed to the Quebec Police Ethics Commission (which, by the way, are on the rise) and says only a small margin actually result in a court case. A 2009 CTV report found that of 97 incidents in which civilians were injured or killed by police officers over the course of six years, only once did the Sûreté du Québec recommend criminal charges.
The Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal (an important player in Quebec police unions) has been accused of stalling or influencing investigations into police shootings. It’s no secret that the police community is a tight-knit group—and one with vital political connections. “The people who actually work in the public security minister office are former police officers from the Sûreté du Québec,” says Popovic. “This is a clear example of the influence—the political influence—the police have.”
That is why Saint-Germain sees the need for change to come from within the police force and those associated with it. She says one of the worst effects of a declining confidence in police is officers cannot adequately perform their job. Aside from the restructuring and procedural recommendations listed in her report (which suggests qualified civilian participation), Saint-Germain emphasizes the inclusion of police officers as part of the solution. She says they must understand it’s in their best interest these inquests are credible in the eyes of the public.
“What citizens are demanding is that the investigative procedures have a better framework, that they are more independent, and much more transparent so that the population is assured these inquests were truly handled in a manner to reveal the truth in the end.”
At the time of publication, Public Security Minister Robert Dutil had not responded to Saint-Germain’s report and had made no announcements regarding changes to the investigative procedure. He is said to be in reflection, awaiting the results of the Villanueva inquest.
