Pacifique Niyokwizera’s family is demanding $ 180,000 from Quebec City and its police department for the “unfair” arrest of the young man on the Grande Allée in November.
18 years old at the time of the events, Pacifique Niyokwizera was arrested at the Dagobert bar exit by police officers from the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) on the night of November 26 to 27, 2021.
A dispute, the circumstances of which remain to be clarified, has erupted between police relations officers and the population intervention group (GRIPP) and a group of youths which includes Mr. Niyokwizera.
During the fight, the police allegedly grabbed the young man and allegedly soled him down beaten until he experienced a concussion and severe swelling of the face, including bloody, swollen eyescan we read in the source application where Radio-Canada obtained a copy.
A video of the arrest circulated on social networks and revived the debate on race profiling and the use of force during police interventions.
Minister Geneviève Guilbault ordered the Police Ethics Commissioner to investigate the matter.
Five policemen involved in the arrest have been suspended. Everyone is back at work.
According to the Journal de Québec, Pacifique Niyokwizera was arrested on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference with a minor, several months after the events.
Race profiling
Mr. Niyokwizera’s family lawyer Mr. Fernando Belton, believes the police had no valid reason to arrest the young man in November 2021.
We are talking about baseless arrests. An arrest that was unreasonable indeed. An arrest in which a police officer has no reasonable suspicion or reasonable basis to believe that an offense has been committed. he indicated.
He also pleaded that the black young man be harmed because of the color of his skin.
The reasons for the public disturbance that the police say to justify the arrest are only reasons for the real reason which, according to him, is related to race.he writes the source application.
The police would have suggested specifically to the young man back to Montreal at the time of the arrest, a comment with racist connotations, according to Me Belton.
The plaintiffs, who include Mr. Niyokwizera’s mother and two sisters, are seeking a total amount of $ 180,000 from Quebec City for the injuries, problems, stress and inconvenience that resulted in this arrest.
The Quebec City Police Service declined to comment, as the police ethics commissioner is still investigating the incidents.
In December, police told Radio-Canada that officers on duty on the night of the events would receive insults from young people, in addition to targeting by spitting and beating.
Source: Radio-Canada
