Montreal police officer Maurice Robitaille suspended 5 days for illegal search
Racial-profiling complaint dismissed due to lack of evidence
Montreal police officer Maurice Robitaille has been suspended for five days without pay after the police ethics board ruled he had illegally stopped, searched and pepper-sprayed David Daumec.
Daumec filed the complaint in 2012, initially accusing Robitaille of racially profiling him as he drove home from a party at a Pointe-aux-Trembles reception hall.
The accusation of racial profiling was dropped during the course of the police ethics board hearing because it was too hard to prove.
However, Robitaille was found guilty of having illegally stopped, searched, arrested and detained Daumec. He was also sanctioned for using illegal force against the victim, namely, using pepper spray.
He was sanctioned a total of 18 days, but they will be served concurrently over five days.
Timeline of events
The events in question began in the early-morning hours of July 28, 2012, when Daumec left a reception hall in Pointe-aux-Trembles. Daumec testified that he had seen a police cruiser in the parking lot of the reception hall and believed it followed him out of the lot.
The black Jeep Daumec was driving was stopped by Robitaille several minutes later.
A witness who was a passenger in Daumec's vehicle supported his claim that he had only had two drinks over the course of the night.
The police ethics board heard that Robitaille threatened to break Daumec's window if he didn't open the door and get out of the vehicle.
Robitaille, who was accompanied by his partner, then told Daumec that he was looking for a black man in a black vehicle. "You're a suspect in a shooting, otherwise you're drunk," the officer said, according to testimony.
Daumec then overheard on the police officer's radio that the shooting suspect had been found and mentioned it to the officer. The officer then accused him of being drunk.
Daumec responded by saying he would gladly take a breathalyzer test. The officer then struck Daumec in the knees and pepper-sprayed him. When Daumec moved to cover his face, officers brought him down to the ground and handcuffed him.
After finding textbooks while searching Daumec's vehicle, the ethics board heard that Robitaille commented, "I'm surprised a guy like you goes to school."
Daumec filed a complaint with the ethics board in February 2013.