Police scandals are symptomatic of much larger issues

Claims of police misconduct are common in Canada and there appears to be no end in sight. This isn’t a recent development, but one that’s becoming more publicized because there’s now greater scrutiny of state institutions. Recent allegations of racist conduct among 16 Montréal police officers, including instances where dreadlocks were taken from Black men and kept as “trophies,” illustrate the pervasive nature of systemic racism in policing. Police collecting and displaying trophies is nothing new and parallels the violence of lynch mob vigilantism.

In Montréal, concerns about discriminatory policing have even been documented in interactions involving family members of the city’s mayor. While these instances of police misconduct aren’t surprising to those who experience the everyday violence of policing, the latest allegations draw attention to the broader issue of whether the promise of police reform will ever be realized.

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