Cop Risks $18,000 Fine For Racial Profiling

Constable said Arabs 'are all a bunch of liars,' rights complaint claims

A Montreal police officer is facing a $18,000 fine for what the Quebec Human Rights Commission says is a clear case of racial profiling against two men of Arab origin.

The incident happened on March 30, 2007, in Ahuntsic, during a delivery of clothing samples to a local business.

According to the commission summary, Mohamed Jaber parked his Jaguar in front of the business. Milad Rezko, who came out to retrieve the samples, sat in the car's passenger seat, talking to Jaber. At this point, Constable Dominique Chartrand drove by in the opposite direction.

Chartrand turned his cruiser around, parked it behind the Jaguar and asked Rezko for identification. Rezko replied he had none, and was working in a nearby building.

He gave Chartrand his date of birth, but interchanged the day and the month, so Chartrand was unable to confirm his identity.

When Chartrand again asked for ID, Rezko crossed himself, swearing he didn't have any papers with him.

Then, according to the complaint, Chartrand lashed out, and said, "I don't give a damn about your Catholicism, Buddhism or whatever. You Arabs are all a bunch of liars."

When Milad Rezko's brother, Georges Rezko, emerged from the shop and also could not recall Milad's birthdate, Chartrand called him "a new liar," the complaint said.

When their mother came out and gave the correct birthdate, Chartrand gave Milad Rezko a $115 ticket for being in a moving car without wearing a seat belt. Rezko was later acquitted of the charge in Municipal Court.

Concluding that Rezko was a victim of racial profiling, the commission is seeking an award of $10,000 in moral damages and $8,000 in punitive damages from the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal, equivalent to Quebec Court.

iblock@thegazette.canwest.com

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