5 Quebec City police officers suspended after video shows violent treatment of Black youth

Warning: the following story contains descriptions of violence that may be upsetting

The Quebec City police force said Tuesday it has suspended five officers who were involved in violent altercations with two young Black people outside a downtown nightclub on the weekend.

The officers are suspended with pay as part of an "evolving investigation," into an incident that took place outside the Dagobert nightclub on Grande-Allée Street early Saturday morning, a Service de Police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) spokesperson said. 

Video footage that's been shared widely on social media show officers punching and kicking snow in the face of a young Black man while he was lying on the ground restrained. Another video shows police dragging a young Black woman through the snow. At one point an officer appears to grab her by her hair.

Warning | The following video contains scenes of violence:

The young man who was detained by police has since identified himself as 18-year-old Pacifique Niyokwizera. His lawyer, Fernando Belton, told Radio-Canada that he feels his client was a victim of racial profiling.

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault has asked Quebec Police Ethics Commissioner Marc-André Dowd to investigate the actions of the police officers who were involved.

On Tuesday, Guilbault said that while some elected officials and community leaders have asked for an independent inquiry, she feels Dowd is best suited to get to the bottom of what happened. The commissioner is an "independent, expert resource," well versed in the rules that govern police conduct in Quebec, Guilbault said.

"He can cite officers [and] require them to appear before the ethics commission, and if he thinks there's something criminal in [what happened that night] he can transfer it to the BEI, for example," she said, referring to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, Quebec's police watchdog.

Jo-Kirby Olongbo is the Vice-President of Entrepreneurship with Le Forum Jeunesse Afro-Québécois (FJAQ), a non-profit based in Quebec City that works with Black youth across the province. She welcomed the news of the suspensions but said she still wants to see an independent, impartial investigation.

"It's a really good first step, but we want more," she said. "We want to make sure that an independent investigation is going to be conducted by the police and every other parties [involved]. We want to make sure that Pacifique and every other victim of Saturday are going to be treated the right way."

SPVQ spokesperson Sandra Dion told CBC the officers will be suspended with pay, as per the collective agreement, and the length of their suspension still hasn't been determined.

In a statement, Martine Fortier, president of the Quebec City police brotherhood (FPPVQ) said she was surprised five officers were suspended and hopes suspensions weren't politically motivated. She said police officers have the right to "just and equal treatment" and that treatment should not be influenced by outside opinion.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.