Black man handcuffed after car Montreal police thought was stolen ended up being his
CBC
Brice Dossa said he was "humiliated" and discriminated against after Montreal police officers handcuffed him for the theft of a car that ended up being his, and then didn't have the key to uncuff him.
"I could be attacked anywhere for no reason. I'm not a criminal," said Dossa, who added he was never afraid of police until Thursday's incident.
"I feel traumatized. I feel I've been humiliated and this is a discrimination.... Everyone I spoke to said, 'If you were white, this could have been [handled] differently. They would not have done that to you.'"
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) are opening an administrative investigation, the force said in a Twitter post Saturday.
WATCH | Brice Dossa describes the moment he was wrongfully handcuffed:
Dossa said he went to McDonald's to get fries and, while trying to get back in his vehicle, plainclothes officers charged at him without identifying themselves and handcuffed him.
According to Dossa, once he was in handcuffs, they said his vehicle had been reported stolen and they asked for his name. Only then did they scan and identify the vehicle, confirming it was his, he said. Then, they couldn't get him out of the handcuffs, as they didn't have the key.
Dossa said the officers called the station for help and it took about 15 minutes for a colleague to get the handcuffs off.
After his release, Dossa said, he asked the officers for their identification numbers and photographed the unmarked cars' licence plates. He said officers tried to prevent him from doing so, but he did not trust they gave him the correct information.
Dossa asked a passerby to record the incident to prevent police from changing their story in case he pursued legal action. The video was posted on social media and went viral.
In a Twitter post, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) said they had seen marks on the car, which led them to suspect it was stolen. It said the officers handcuffed Dossa because he got back to his vehicle before they could finish scanning it.
CBC independently confirmed the car is new and has no marks.
"Even if there was a mark on the vehicle, for instance, and I wanted to get in the vehicle — they could come in a professional manner, introduce themselves and ask me to be identified," said Dossa.
"I could give it to you and then you can see if it's a stolen car or not. Not to traumatize me. Or is it because I'm Black you're treating me this way?"
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