The allegations coming out of Station 39 in Montréal-Nord are sickening. We aren't just talking about the usual, exhausting debates over racial profiling here. According to internal details leaked from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), officers allegedly kept pieces of hair cut from racialized citizens as trophies. It sounds like something out of a dark historical text, not a modern democracy.
Quebec’s police ethics commissioner just opened a formal file into these allegations. Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière made the official request that triggered this step. But let's be totally honest about what's happening. A standard administrative review is nowhere near enough to patch the massive hole in public trust.
The Shocking Reality of Station 39
In June 2026, SPVM Chief Fady Dagher made a stunning announcement. He completely dismantled an entire 16-member night patrol unit operating out of the Montréal-Nord borough. This wasn't a case of one bad apple. It was an entire shift.
The details are deeply troubling. Three officers are currently suspended and facing criminal investigations. Three others are stuck on desk duty, and ten more got scattered to different units across the city. The allegations state that these officers routinely targeted, harassed, and racially profiled local residents. Worse, they allegedly retaliated against fellow employees who tried to blow the whistle on the abuse.
The community is furious. They have every right to be. Montréal-Nord is one of the most multicultural boroughs in Montreal. For decades, residents have complained about systemic harassment. When the very people paid to protect you are allegedly cutting off people's hair as prizes, the system is fundamentally broken.
Overlapping Inquiries and Bureaucratic Red Tape
Right now, we have a messy web of parallel investigations trying to figure out what went wrong.
- The Ethics Commissioner: This probe is looking into code of conduct violations.
- The SPVM Internal Investigation: An internal team is looking at potential criminal charges.
- Independent Oversight: The province appointed independent lawyer Anne-Marie Boisvert to watch over the SPVM's internal work.
- The Crown Prosecutor: Quebec's prosecutor is weighing whether to formally lay criminal charges against the suspended officers.
The Red Coalition, a prominent civil rights group, actually filed its own complaint with the ethics commissioner ten days before the minister got involved. Because of bureaucratic rules, the commissioner closed the group's specific file to merge everything under the minister's sweeping request. Alain Babineau, a director at the Red Coalition, noted that while he is glad the investigation is moving forward, the probe needs to look at the systemic rot, not just the 16 officers sidelined so far.
The commissioner’s office is keeping its cards close to its chest. They won't share specific updates publicly unless an officer is officially sent to the administrative tribunal on police ethics. This exact type of secrecy is why people don't trust the process.
Why an Internal Review Fails the Public
Chief Dagher has been praised for tackling these issues head-on since taking the top job. He released an internal video urging officers to report misconduct, stating that human dignity is a core principle of the force. That sounds great on tape. But policing cannot police itself effectively when the allegations are this severe.
Community groups and opposition politicians are demanding a full, independent public inquiry. They are completely right. An internal investigation happens behind closed doors. The public doesn't get to see the evidence, the testimony, or the full scope of who knew what.
We need to know how an entire night patrol unit operated like a rogue gang without supervisors noticing. Did management turn a blind eye? Were warnings ignored? An ethics file won't answer those structural questions.
Next Steps for Meaningful Accountability
True transparency requires immediate, aggressive action from every level of government.
First, the Quebec prosecutor must expedite the review of criminal charges. If the evidence shows officers assaulted citizens and took physical trophies, they belong in a courtroom, not just an ethics hearing.
Second, the City of Montreal must fast-track the full deployment of police body cameras. Visual, unedited records protect citizens and remove the "he-said, she-said" dynamic from street encounters.
Finally, keep pressure on local representatives to force a public inquiry. Write to your city councillor and your Member of the National Assembly (MNA). Demand that the findings of Anne-Marie Boisvert's oversight review be made completely public. True accountability can't hide behind a wall of administrative silence.
