7 Montreal police officers dismissed over racist, discriminatory conduct - CBC

Fady Dagher, Montreal's police chief, mentioned last week that more news would come in November about the investigation into a 16-member patrol unit from Station 39. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)Social SharingMontreal police Chief Fady Dagher has announced the administrative dismissal of seven employees in connection with allegations of discriminatory and racist behaviour, as well as derogatory acts.

"We will not accept acts that tarnish the uniform," said Dagher during an afternoon news conference Monday where he discussed the successes of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and his own effort to change the culture from within and break the cycle of silence.

He said gathering evidence is a long, sometimes frustrating process, but "we live under the rule of law."

The firings are a result of an internal disciplinary investigation and were carried out on an administrative level, but the criminal investigations, which are separate, are ongoing, Dagher said.

"Now we all have to wait for the criminal side," he said, noting that's up to the Crown.

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The announcement comes after allegations emerged at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord, which has been at the centre of a major racism scandal since June.

When Dagher first brought the allegations to light, he said 16 officers were under investigation for racist and hateful acts allegedly committed against Black and Arab people during police stops.

More suspensions followed as the investigation continued in the weeks and months that followed.

Two people were fired from Station 21, Dagher said, and five from Station 39.Last month, Quebec's domestic security minister ordered two separate investigations into a Montreal police officer from Station 21 who allegedly urinated on homeless people while in uniform. Station 21 serves parts of downtown Montreal. A second officer from Station 21 was also suspended for alleged acts of humiliation directed at racialized people, according to Radio-Canada.

On Monday, Dagher said the firings from Station 21 involved incidents of racism and interactions with vulnerable persons. When it comes to allegations in the media that a police officer urinated on a homeless person, he said, "we don't have that in our internal investigation."

He said there was disgusting behaviour, but not on a human.

Last week, it was also revealed that Quebec's Crown is investigating an officer who, according to Radio-Canada sources, allegedly deleted evidence from a victim's phone in a case of domestic violence in 2025. When an officer flagged the deletion to her superiors, she alleges, the issue was ignored. In a statement, police said the report surfaced during the investigation into Station 39. However, Dagher did not confirm Monday whether the officer was one of the seven who was dismissed.

Dagher said steps are being taken to prevent this kind of behaviour from happening again in the future.

"I am aware that the bond of trust has been largely weakened by the cases we have decided to expose ourselves," said Dagher on Monday.

"But I am also convinced that we will be able to rebuild it ... throughout our humility, and our willingness to improve day by day."

More announcements can be expected in the coming weeks, he added, as the SPVM works to make changes from the ground up and rebuild trust.

"It's a sad day, but it was needed," said Dagher, noting the officers, which includes men and women, had already turned in their guns and badges when they were suspended.

In a statement Monday, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said the SPVM has taken an "unprecedented step to rebuild the trust of citizens."

"No one is above the rules. This work is demanding and necessary, and it must continue," she said.

Yves Francoeur, head of the police union, Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, declined to comment.In a statement, Projet Montréal continued its push to bring Dagher before city council for questioning, saying firing seven officers is the bare minimum and fails to solve the core issue.

"It will take much more than that to hope to rebuild the bond of trust between Montrealers and the SPVM," the statement says.

For Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, Monday's news was not something he has ever seen in his many years of activism. "There must be some very convincing, and very powerful evidence to justify the dismissal of seven police officers," he told CBC News, explaining it's usually a long, drawn-out process.

"Certainly, it's a welcomed move and it will certainly help restore public trust in the Montreal police department."

Isaac Olson is a journalist with CBC Montreal. He worked largely as a newspaper reporter and photographer for 15 years before joining CBC in the spring of 2018.