Montreal police chief says change will take time amid racism allegations

Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher expressed a sentiment of "shame" within the force as it confronts serious allegations of racism, discrimination, and harassment. The chief faced public questioning for the first time at a special meeting Tuesday night at Montreal City Hall, addressing over a decade of discontent from residents of Montreal North.

“

That, for me, was shocking. Extremely disappointed, humiliating. I always say that I recognize that racial profiling and discrimination exist. What surprised me is the gravity of the behaviour of those two police officers in the case. And that, to be honest with you, I didn’t expect to see this in 2026.

These concerns culminated in June when Dagher disbanded a 16-member patrol unit in Montreal North following claims of racist and abusive conduct. Some officers allegedly cut and kept the hair of racialized citizens as trophies, resulting in the suspension of two officers. A third officer was suspended in an unrelated incident.

Dagher described the trophy incident as "shocking" and "humiliating," stating he recognized racial profiling and discrimination exist but was surprised by the "gravity of the behaviour" of the officers involved. He admitted that ingrained habits, such as forbidden random street checks, will take time to eradicate.

“

People are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Community leaders emphasized that the issues are not isolated to the police department. Erika Alneus, chief of the official opposition at city hall, stated, "People are sick and tired of being sick and tired." Fo Niemi, executive director of the Centre for Research-Action on Race, called the meeting "difficult but necessary" and "open, honest." He stressed that the police cannot solve these problems alone, urging involvement from city politicians and boroughs.

“

It was a very difficult but necessary conversation. It was open, it was honest.

Dagher acknowledged the difficulty in pinpointing the root of the animosity but did not rule out extremism and white supremacy as potential factors. He stated, "This is a very important moment for the police department to rethink where did we miss, what went wrong with those two police officers." Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada did not attend the meeting.

“

It’s a tough question because we are the mirror of society. This is a very important moment for the police department to rethink where did we miss, what went wrong with those two police officers.