Family accuses Longueuil police of racial profiling

Members of a family on Montreals South Shore areaccusingaLongueuil police officer of racial profiling and usingexcessive force after two teenagers werestopped for jaywalking.

On November 15, 19-year-old Nathan Picard andhis 17-year-old stepbrother say they were stopped by police aftercrossingthestreet near a bus station.

Picardsays he was punched, thrown to the groundand handcuffed, while his stepbrotherwas threatened with pepper spray and handcuffed without an explanation.

"They grabbed my brother and I and put us up against the car," saidPicard. "I kept saying, 'What did I do?' And he hit me in the back of the neck."

Dominique Jacobs, Picard's stepmother,says she believes police thought the teenagersmight be involved in other illegal activities, based only on their appearance.

"Theway they were handled was completely unacceptable, and I think its because they are black, and they had a bag, a hoodie and a hat on," said Jacobs.

"[The police]thought, 'Theres more to it, we might get something here.'"

Jacobs said a police officer brought the boys to her home inBrossardthen barged into thehouse and began searching the residencewithout an explanation.

Jacobssaid the police also used abusive language when speaking with her.

"I, myself, have never been so humiliated and insulted... To come to our home and treat us that way when we were being respectful.We were just trying to understand what was going on," said Jacobs.

CRARR offers support to family

Jacobs said she isdemanding an apology from the officer and filing multiple complaints with the Longueuil policefor racial profiling, excessive force and illegal conduct.

Fo Niemi, the executive director ofthe Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), saidthe organization will support the family's civil rights and complaints about police ethics.

"I believe there's nothingconcretelyin programsto address this issue at all. It's as if diversity doesn't exist," said Niemi.

A spokesperson for the Longueuil police force said the forceislooking into the incident.