One too many… Late last week, an African-American, black citizen was arbitrarily detained by two Montreal police officers and severely humiliated publicly, apparently on suspicion of attempting to steal his own car.
A second investigation was launched within the SPVM into this affair…
The first investigation was precocious, even strangely short-lived.
Is it racial profiling? If, at the end of the investigation, it turns out that this was actually the case, then in retrospect the absurdity of the incident could be illustrated by the fact that this dark-skinned citizen was arrested because of too much melanin in his skin.
Melanin is the architect pigment of dark or light skin color. Consequently, the more we have, the darker we are… of skin.
Black, brown, red or blond, melanin also determines hair color.
Scientific studies agree without a doubt that the basic function of melanin is to protect your skin from the effects of the sun’s UV rays.
A matter of prejudice?
However, it has never been proven that melanin is an anomaly, much less a genetic marker whose main function is crime in general and car theft in particular…
Are there still police officers in the Montreal police force, possibly prisoners, who are unaware of their cognitive biases to challenge the scientific reading of melanin?
In some of these minds, would every black citizen be a potential criminal? If so, would it then be relevant to examine the stigmas of their education and professional training to correct the “mistakes”…
A misjudgment?
As a citizen, I dare to hope that this incident is just a misjudgment by the two police officers.
But the rule of law obliges, the outcome of the Imbroglio will certainly go through the courts.
Unfortunately, even if the supposed victim wins the case, that won’t erase the presence of the elephant in the middle of the room: prejudice…
As long as we don’t attack the source that feeds the prejudices of some against others, the problem will remain.
To contribute to collective education, this outcome must be as visible as the unfortunate incident itself.
“The Case” has already crossed our media boundaries. Montreal is not an island in the middle of an ocean.
Montreal is part of a globalized and connected ecosystem.
In recent years, here as elsewhere in the civilized world, reason no longer trivializes the sort of incidents that took place on our soil last Thursday.
An honor is at stake, that of the alleged victim.
The reputation is also at stake, that of Montreal, its police force and, more broadly, that of Quebec.
