Montrealers rally around family of man who died after police operation in Saint-Michel

WARNING: This communicative contains descriptions of constabulary utilizing unit against an individual.

A assemblage of radical made their distrust of Montreal's constabulary corp known Sunday day arsenic they marched toward the Saint-Michel constabulary post, conscionable a fewer blocks southbound of wherever Abisay Cruz died connected March 30.

His was the 2nd decease pursuing an cognition by the Service de constabulary de la Ville de Montréal  (SPVM) successful little than 12 hours that weekend. Quebec's constabulary watchdog, known by its French acronym BEI, has launched investigations into some cases.

"The residents of this neighbourhood are anxious," said assemblage organizer Stéphanie Germain, speaking successful French astatine the commencement of the march. It began successful beforehand of the residence wherever constabulary were dispatched adjacent the intersection of Pie-XI Boulevard and 47th Street. 

Members of Cruz's household stood astatine a region down her, opting not to talk owed to the ongoing BEI investigation.

Some wore balaclavas and achromatic hoodies with a representation of Cruz smiling and holding a barroom connected his 29th birthday, which helium celebrated little than 2 weeks earlier helium died. 

"We were told things would get better, but contiguous we're afraid," Germain said. "Unfortunately, contiguous we inquire ourselves what is the relation of constabulary if not to protect."

"The soundlessness from the SPVM is dense today."

Maymolina Umaña emigrated to Montreal from El Salvador and worked with Cruz's parent for 5 years. At Sunday's march, she told CBC the assemblage feels the family's pain.

"Leaving our countries to a state wherever they springiness america residence [and] refuge, to past dice successful that mode and astatine 29 years old, a young man, it's to adjacent the doorway connected a full beingness arsenic overmuch for him arsenic for his family," she said successful Spanish.

Protestors continued to march past the constabulary subdivision earlier turning backmost and gathering successful beforehand of the residence wherever the involution took place. During the march, protestors threw pyrotechnics into the aerial astatine assorted points.

SPVM spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils says constabulary arrested six people  – 4 for equipped battle against an serviceman and 2 for battle besides against an officer. She says cipher was injured.

Police began to disperse the assemblage astir 5 p.m. and the lawsuit ended astir 9 p.m.

What we cognize astir Cruz's past moments

On March 30 astatine 8:06 a.m., a telephone was placed to 911 reporting a idiosyncratic successful situation down a residence, according to archetypal accusation released by the BEI.

Montreal constabulary officers arrived a fewer minutes later, and an altercation occurred betwixt officers and a antheral astatine the country and officers yet restrained him.

The BEI says the man, who was aboriginal identified arsenic Cruz, suffered a "malaise" and mislaid consciousness. He was fixed first-aid and transported to infirmary wherever helium was declared dead, according to the BEI.

Bystanders that greeting caught immoderate of the events connected video and they person since been shared wide connected societal media. In 1 video, shared by WSC Montreal to Instagram,  the unidentified idiosyncratic holding the camera says they saw officers deed Cruz portion helium was sitting down. They're filming the country from a neighbouring balcony. 

The video shows 2 officers holding Cruz against the crushed connected a balcony, 1 of them kneeling against his backmost telling him to calm down.

Cruz is lying connected his beforehand with his hands down his backmost and sounds distressed. A 3rd serviceman is trying to bust down the flat door. Eventually 3 much officers ascent up to the balcony. 

On Sunday, Germain said the deficiency of accusation astir what precisely happened has created a batch of anxiousness successful the community. The BEI traditionally releases small accusation until its probe is complete. 

Germain said the household is asking for justness and answers to what happened.

Germain, who is enforcement manager of the enactment Éduconnexion, says she was reflecting connected the enactment she and different assemblage workers bash successful Saint-Michel.

"We enactment truthful hard connected 1 broadside truthful for america to spot a calamity similar this hap astatine the hands of the SPVM, for america it's similar each the efforts we enactment successful are for nothing," she said.

Protestors explicit small religion successful BEI investigation

Cruz was 1 of 3 radical who died pursuing a constabulary involution successful the state connected the aforesaid play astatine the extremity of March.

The archetypal lawsuit happened Saturday evening successful downtown Montreal. Another idiosyncratic died aft an involution from constabulary successful Quebec City connected Sunday evening, March 30. The BEI is investigating each 3 cases.

The BEI probe into Cruz's decease provides small reassurance, says Alexandre Popovic with the Coalition Against Police Repression and Abuse.

He attended a abstracted vigil successful downtown Montreal aboriginal Sunday held for the 3 men who died.

For Popovic, what helium saw successful the video of Cruz's apprehension amounted to constabulary brutality.

"We don't cognize the nonstop origin of decease close present but for maine 1 happening is truly clear, if it wasn't for the SPVM, Mr. Cruz would inactive beryllium live today," said  Popovic.

"I neglect to spot the justification of each this brutality."

Popovic points to the BEI's debased condemnation complaint ever since the autarkic assemblage began investigating deaths and superior injuries caused during constabulary interventions successful 2016.

Out of its 446 investigations, including 41 presently ongoing, lone 2 person resulted successful ineligible proceedings, according to the BEI's statistics.

Tari Ajadi, an adjunct prof of governmental subject astatine McGill University, says that absorption from Popovic and different assemblage members is understandable.

"At a beauteous cardinal level, radical deliberation that the crippled is rigged and if you look astatine the result they person each crushed to deliberation that," helium said. "Even if the BEI is trying to behaviour an 'objective' investigation, it's doing truthful connected a backdrop of monolithic inequity and injustice."

He says the BEI exemplary should beryllium redesigned, to debar having erstwhile constabulary officers analyse existent officers. He said the investigations should pb to much alteration wrong the constabulary forces themselves — thing helium says helium hasn't seen yet. 

Ajadi says nine needs to fundamentally question the relation of constabulary successful cases involving radical successful distress.

"At the extremity of the day, erstwhile you person an serviceman oregon a radical of officers astir a idiosyncratic successful situation and they're the ones gathering that idiosyncratic successful crisis, you already person the discourse for a deadly concern to occur," helium said.