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The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Eleven Months Later...COBP, Lundi, Novembre 27, 2006 - 21:50
The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP)
COBP denounced the decision of Prosecutor James Rondeau, the result of eleven months of what we expected: a cover up of a police killing that resulted from racial profiling, plain and simple. Everybody in Montreal should have the right to know if officers Bernier and Roy have in fact returned to work, and if so in what capacity (desk work or on the street) and if they are on the street, in what neighbourhood are they with their guns? It is impossible for us to have any trust in the SPVM which gets away with murder, the SPVQ which covers up the truth or the Quebec Minister of Justice which protects killer cops.(...) It is past time to set up an independent public inquiry into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, before any more people fall victim to the SPVM.(...) COBP thinks that it would be an excellent idea for the SPVM to lead by example by no longer using firearms and condemning killer cops. One thing is for sure: the fight against police brutality is far from over! What’s more, this struggle knows no borders, for police everywhere kill people: in Oaxaca in Mexico, in Colombia, everywhere... As they say in Colombia: For the victims of State violence, nor a moment’s silence, but a lifetime of struggle! The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Eleven Months Later: No charges are to be laid against the killer cops Bernier and Roy, and none of the questions have been answered... Montreal, November 13th 2006. On November 4th 2006, the government of Quebec released a brief statement to the effect that “no criminal charges will be laid as following the death of Mr Mohamed Annas Bennis�? as “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred." (1) More than eleven months after the incident where an officer from the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM – Montreal Police Department) shot Mohamed Anas Bennis twice, once in the heart killing him, a brief review of the facts is in order. What Happened and What the Police Say Happened The next day, the police version of events was published in the Journal de Montreal: Mohamed, described as “unbalanced,�? was said to have jumped on a police officer with a kitchen knife, for no reason, stabbing him in the neck and in the leg. The officer then fired the two fatal shots, apparently in “justified self-defense." (3) This version of events was challenged by Mohamed’s friends and family, who described him as an easy going young man who had never had any problems with the police, or any psychological problems. Furthermore, as his sister pointed out, “The idea of Mohamed Anas walking around with a kitchen knife as he left Mosque on the morning of December 1st, there is no way we’re going to swallow a story like that. We’d do better to believe in Santa Claus!"(4) The Service de Police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ – Quebec City Police Department) was charged with investigating the case, as according to the “policy of the Public Security Minister of Quebec, that when a death or serious bodily injury which might result in death occurs during a police operation or period of detention" no police force can investigate itself or events in which its own officers caused someone to die. The community mobilizes Mohamed Anas Bennis’ father, Mohamed Bennis, as well as the Atlas Media Group, set up the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas, which quickly received support from many people and organizations concerned with civil rights. On December 2nd it was reported that the police officer in question was “treated for superficial injuries which did not require hospitalization." On December 5th, the SPVQ officer in charge of the investigation confirmed that there was a video tape of the incident. On December 6th, the father hired the lawyer Luc Trempe to expose what he referred to as a “bavure policiere." [A term which means “police error," but which is used to refer to police killings. - translator] The father traveled to Quebec City and met with Lieutenant-Detective Jocelyn Bélanger, who told him that the investigation was now in the coroner’s hands. On December 8th a source confirmed that on the police radio one could hear police shouting “Show us your hands!" to Mohamed. The police also claim that the video recording is of poor quality and “cannot be used."(5) On December 11th 2005, the Atlas Media Group devoted a radio show to the Anas affair, inviting a member of COBP to speak about police brutality. On December 15th, there was a special report on the case in the Atlas Media newspaper, with a circulation of 10,000 copies; other articles would be published in January and November 2006. Mohamed’s father denounced the bavure policiere, suggesting that his son was the victim of racial profiling, killed because of how he looked and the stereotype of Muslim terrorists. The fact that the killer cop was only 25 years old and has only been on the job for four years added to suspicions that Mohamed Anas Bennis was in fact a victim of racial profiling. (6) The family also denounced the investigators’ lack of transparency and the lack of communication from the police authorities. In an interview with La Presse, Mohamed’s brother Mohamed-Labri Bennis said “They refuse to tell us why" Mohamed Anas was killed. Even if the police were telling the truth, he asked “Is this the only way that two police officers with firearms can immobilize a man with a knife?" (7) On January 7th 2006, a day when the temperature dropped to minus seventeen, roughly 2000 people participated in a demonstration called by the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas. The vast majority of the demonstrators were from the Moroccan, Arab and Muslim communities. In fact, the Imams had put out a call to participate through the Mosques. Chanting “Justice and Dignity, We Want the Truth!" the demonstrators denounced the slow pace of the police investigation and demanded a public inquiry to shed light on the case. Speeches by family and organizers asked people to be patient and have faith in the police and the system. They even thanked the SPVM for having escorted the demonstration, and when someone shouted out “Killer Cops!" he was quickly told to be quiet by the protest marshals... Speeches called for “Montreal police to be better educated about Islam and the Muslim community, as many police officers are ignorant about how Muslims dress and their religious practices," because without this “members of the police force will be influenced by the islamophobic and stereotyped media propaganda regarding Muslims." (8) Representatives of the Muslim Council of Montreal and the Black Coalition of Quebec also took part in the march, as did the former Liberal Minister of Immigration, Denis Coderre. Many people were justifiably shocked that this man, nicknamed “Mr Security Certificate," had been invited to a demonstration for Mohamed Anas Bennis. Indeed, a campaign had just been launched to “Vote Against Coderre" and “deport him from parliament." Amongst other things, Coderre had been responsible for signing three security certificates, one of which was for Adil Charkaoui (who was also present at the march). Coderre also oversaw almost 18,000 deportations, lifted the moratorium on deportations to Algeria, and had police brutalize undocumented Algerians in his Ottawa office, amongst other things. (9) Right in the middle of an election campaign and the sponsorship scandal, Coderre’s appearance at the demonstration was nothing but a disgusting attempt to get some political capital out of a man’s death by pretending to denounce police brutality and posing as a “friend�? of the community... “Mr Security Certificate" was also invited to speak on the Atlas Media radio show the Sunday following the demonstration. The cover up and clearing the police According to officer Jean-Sébastien Roy of the SPVQ (we do not know if he is related to the officer Roy of the SPVM who was implicated in the incident on December 1st 2005), “our report was finished in March and we sent it to the Crown Prosecutor in Rimouski." In late September 2006, Mohamed Anas Bennis’ sister Najilaa told the Journal de Montreal that “They are trying to hide something from us. We want to know the truth, whether my brother was a victim or was the one to blame. Yet we have no news. It is not normal." Prosecutor James Rondeau, who had received the file on April 13th, claimed to “understand the concerns" of the Bennis family, but blamed “a heavy workload before the summer" and “sick leave following surgery on his arm" for the time it was taking. Trying to be reassuring, he explained that “I am not the kind who only does half the job. I spent some time on this file. I even went to Montreal to see where it happened. (...)" He said that it would be known before December 1st whether or not charges would be laid in the case. (11) And so it was more than eleven months after the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, on November 4th 2006, that the “substitute associate chief of the Attorney General of Rimouski" James Rondeau released his decision in the form of a press release. No criminal charges would be laid against the police officer who killed Mohamed Anas Bennis. Apparently “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred." (12) And yet the report of Coroner Rafaël Ayllon, signed on January 31st 2006 in Montreal, left no room for doubt: he concluded that this was a “violent death" caused by a “hemorrhagic and cardiological shock which resulted from one bullet in the thorax and one in the abdomen which struck several vital organs including the heart." The autopsy conducted by Dr André Bourgault on December 2nd 2005 showed that “Mr Bennis’ death is due to hemorrhagic and cardiogenic shock which resulted from two bullet wounds in the thorax and the abdomen. These wounds perforated several vital organs including the right lung, the stomach, the spleen, the left kidney and the heart, which caused serious hemorrhaging." The report explained that “There were two wounds in the thoraco-abdominal area caused by two bullets shot from a firearm. The first wound was situated in the second intercostal space and the left clavicle measuring .9 cm in diameter and the second on the posterior surface of the left arm measured .7 cm in diameter." The external examination confirmed that Mohamed also had cuts on his nose, mouth and forehead and “a superficial third wound (...) on his left hand at the base of the thumb measuring 3.5 cm in length." (13) The coroner’s report also revealed the names of the two SPVM officers implicated in the incident, without saying which one fired on Mohamed: officers Bernier and Roy of Neighbourhood Station #25. This is how the coroner explains the circumstances surrounding Bennis’ death: “In the police report from the SPVM’s Station 25, officers Bernier and Roy were heading towards (...) Kent Street in order to join personnel participating in an operation headed by the Quebec Provincial Police that had been going on since 6:30am. The two officers were walking on the sidewalk towards the building when Mr Bennis headed southwest in their direction; when he reached the police he stabbed one of the officers in his neck and in his right leg for no known reason. The officer fired on him with his revolver and the individual fell to the ground." Ambulance services took Mohamed to the Jewish General Hospital and “tried to revive him," but he was in a “critical condition when he arrived," and “at 8:04am his death was declared by the doctor in charge." As for the police officer, he was brought to the Montreal General Hospital. (14) Unanswered Questions On December 7th 2006, the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet met with Prosecutor James Rondeau at his office. Rondeau read him a legal opinion which stated that “there is no reason to lay charges against the police officer involved," but he refused to hand a copy of this opinion over to the lawyer! Rondeau also told him that he would have to fill out an Access to Information request in order to receive a copy of the SPVQ’s report. As the victim’s father said, “We have waited almost a year for information, and still we have received nothing official." He added, “Everything is verbal, nothing is concrete" and “what they have told us is very contradictory." (15) In the November 9th 2006 edition of their newspaper, Atlas Montreal denounce “a press release which hardly says anything, which is empty, and almost anonymous as it comes from an information agency and not from the office of any authority." Noting that the Coroner’s Report “did not say anything that the police press releases in December 2005 were not already saying a year ago," they asked “What was the point of having fifteen investigators work for twelve months if it was for such meager results?" They also noted that “All of the questions that were being asked last December 2nd remain unanswered, and there are new questions too, such as why was the Bennis family’s lawyer denied access to evidence in this case, forcing him to rely on Access to Information requests to get around this bizarre ‘secrecy’, having to wait eight months to see if this would work." In conclusion, “Let us speak plainly: what is there to hide in the Anas Bennis affair? Who has an interest in hiding these things, and why?"(16) A spokesperson from the Minister of Justice told the Gazette that there would be no other statements beyond this press release. Prosecutor Rondeau from Rimouski could not be reached for comment, perhaps due to his “heavy workload�? or another “sick leave�?? As to the SPVM, they did not respond to any requests for interviews... the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet stated that “it has been a year that the family has not been told anything (...) So far all I have encountered are closed doors. I have been refused access to anything having to do with the investigation, as if it were all secret. It is very strange, because if it is as simple as they say I don’t see why the family cannot be told what happened." Even some sources within the SPVM say they are frustrated as the lack of transparency in this investigation, but not for the same reason: they say they are certain the police officer shot to defend himself from an unprovoked attack... (17) On November 8th 2006, La Presse quoted Montreal Police Brotherhood president Yves Francoeur as also denouncing the “abnormally long procedure" saying that the duration of the inquiry for an incident “as clear as a mountain stream" is “aberrant and sends the wrong message to police officers." While he insisted he “sympathizes with Anas Bennis’ father’s pain," Francoeur thinks it is especially hard on “the young police officer who was stabbed and forced to fire and who has to wait all this time. He started having doubts." As for Mohamed Anas’ father, he “questions the entire investigatio" and has stated that “when a citizen is in a conflict with a police officer, there is another law which is applied. This decision may not sit well with the Arab and Muslim community." (18) In an interview with Atlas Montreal, Pierre Pâquet notes that if Mohamed had survived, he would have been charged with armed assault on a police officer, and would have access to any evidence and would have the chance to cross-examine witnesses. “So," he asks, “why, when he is dead, should these rights which all citizens enjoy cease to apply? Why can’t his family get a hold of the file?" He explains, “There are a few possibilities that I can think of; I have heard 27 different versions of what happened in this case; I have a lot of unanswered questions in my head; but all of this does not measure up to one document, written in black and white, but they tell us we cannot have access to anything written and this is difficult to accept because I have this horrible feeling that the basic rights of the victim and his family (...) have not been respected." (19) Atlas Montreal asked these questions : “The public would have liked to know why a copy of the report, sent to the victim’s father and not to the family’s lawyer as it says in the press release (“I was never contacted," says Pâquet), is dated January 2006 yet was only released to the concerned parties several months later (“a typo" was the official explanation given to the Bennis father). We would have also liked to know why the final report contains no mention of any video recording; why, despite Mr Pâquet’s expressed request, this recording was not safeguarded..." They conclude that “In the final analysis, we have the overwhelming feeling that someone, somewhere, is deeply embarrassed by this case, for reasons which remain to be made clear and which ‘they’ certainly do not want to see made clear..."(20) The Moroccan newspaper Le Reporter also asks some pertinent questions: “How is it that a young quebecois, known for his easy going personality, came to attack a police officer for no reason? (...) How is it that a young man who weighed only 66 kilos, with no police record, constituted a serious threat to an entire team of police? To immobilize the aggressor, could the police not have fired anywhere but in his heart? The refusal to produce the so-called knife and video recording of the incident make one think that this is an attempt to cover up a police mistake just like what happened in the London subway." (21) Finally, one of the main questions (perhaps the most important one) which remain to be answered is that which the father asked back in December 2005: “Anas left the Mosque at 6:30am, and was killed at 7:20am. But nobody has been able to tell me what happened in those fifty minutes. Everything else comes after this. So the truth remains to be seen." (22) Mass Media Complicity He adds that “Again: this is a case where the police version of events was initially the only version presented in the media, and is still the main version. It is a case where protests by the community have been downplayed, and reassurances by the authorities have not been questioned. It is also a case where no reporters have done any real investigating of their own." He notes that in actual fact “The Gazette tried to downplay this too – reporter Ann Carroll, who later admitted not even attending the march, simply wrote that ‘as many as 200 people rallied’ – while other media reported that ‘hundreds�? (CTV) or even ‘a thousand’ (Journal de Montreal) people showed up.. None of them gave it the coverage that it deserved," as it was “the largest demonstration against a police killing in years (...) and this on the coldest day in winter." He asks “following the mass protests that surrounded the police killings of young Black men like Anthony Griffin and Marcellus Francois in the late 80s/early 90s, and after the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality and other groups managed to repeatedly call attention to police killings throughout the 90s… why are reporters so keen on not challenging the police and not actually reporting? Why are the papers burying these stories so much more than they did twenty years ago? Why are we no longer told the name of the cop who kills someone – shit, looking through the Gazette archives I note that in many cases we are not even told the name of their dead victims! Is there some new media protocol for how to handle police killings? Now that’s something that someone should report on…" (24) Another interesting fact: an unofficial, or at least “plainclothes", spokesperson for the SPVM, “Freezbee", posted a text on the Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ – the Quebec Indymedia – translator) on November 5th 2006 in which he quotes (without revealing from where): “The SPVM administration feels it is necessary to make the results of the investigation public in order to maintain a sense of trust between citizens and police. While we remain sympathetic to the family of the deceased, the SPVM is satisfied with the conclusion reached by the Substitute Prosecutor. The Service would also like to note that the police officers concerned have returned to work and are doing well." It must be pointed out that there is no official statement on the SPVM website, and so this unofficial “statement" from the SPVM on the CMAQ website seems to be another attempt by the SPVM or one of its officers to convince people who denounce this police killing that “the police acted appropriately in this case," according to one of Freezbee’s comments. (25) It is worth noting that another “Anonymous" made the same kind of comment on Kersplebedeb’s blog, stating that “The reason the Gazette is ignoring this police related death is that it was 100% justified"... (26) As the people at Atlas Montreal note, what is at stake here is the confidence people have (or do not have) in the police and the government. In effect, “The community is greatly disappointed, and this fragile and vulnerable community may even lose confidence in those that govern and are charged with protecting citizens and safeguarding our rights and freedoms. Never mind the cynicism of this administration which didn’t pass up an opportunity to bill the Bennis father ten dollars for a copy of the Coroner’s Report and two hundred dollars for transporting Anas’ body from the site of the incident to the hospital where he died!" (27) Already last December the stated that if this turned out to be a case of racial profiling “It would be serous, very serious (...) It would mean that, as in other country’s which we will not name, xenophobia is rearing its head and that the violent death of the younger Bennis will not be the first, nor the last, case of racial profiling which we will have to endure and which will bring tragedy to our lives. If it turns out that this is the case and that the dramatic events on Kent Street were the result of cultural differences, then punishment – either administrative or penal – for the police officer concerned will be less important than making sure that no firearm meant to keep the peace is ever again used to sow death and disturb the lives of citizens." (28) Stop Police Brutality and Racism ! As for us, COBP denounced the decision of Prosecutor James Rondeau, the result of eleven months of what we expected: a cover up of a police killing that resulted from racial profiling, plain and simple. Everybody in Montreal should have the right to know if officers Bernier and Roy have in fact returned to work, and if so in what capacity (desk work or on the street) and if they are on the street, in what neighbourhood are they with their guns? It is impossible for us to have any trust in the SPVM which gets away with murder, the SPVQ which covers up the truth or the Quebec Minister of Justice which protects killer cops. The death of Mohamed Anas Bennis is certainly not the first case of its kind in Montreal: we remember Anthony Griffin, Martin Suazo, Richard Barnabé, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Rohan Wilson and far too many others... We also remember that on February 17th 2006 SPVM chief of police Yvan Delorme released a statement in which he said he was “satisfied�? with the decision to not lay any charges against the police who shot a man to death on July 4th 2005. (29) The attitude of Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, certainly does nothing to make us trust the police. In an opinion piece he wrote after the January 7th 2006 demonstration he complained that, “We find it difficult to accept that people are trying to make Montreal – a city with hardly any racial tensions, compared to other big cities in North America – look like a banana republic where the police shoot citizens on sight because of their clothing or race." (30) He also stated in August 2006 that “accusations of racism (...) are unjustified. The Montreal police are not racist." (31) And yet even Alain Kashama, a football player with the Montreal Alouettes who was arrested last week in Little Burgundy, has said that “Yeah, it’s racism�? (which led to their arrests) and that “That’s what happens when Black people drive nice cars..." (32) It is past time to set up an independent public inquiry into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, before any more people fall victim to the SPVM. One week after Mohamed’s death, the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood stated that “banning handguns is an excellent idea" and that “for years the Brotherhood has supported attempts to control firearms and impose longer sentences for criminals who use firearms." (33) COBP thinks that it would be an excellent idea for the SPVM to lead by example by no longer using firearms and condemning killer cops. One thing is for sure: the fight against police brutality is far from over! What’s more, this struggle knows no borders, for police everywhere kill people: in Oaxaca in Mexico, in Colombia, everywhere... As they say in Colombia: For the victims of State violence, nor a moment’s silence, but a lifetime of struggle! - Communique from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality - (514) 859-9065 *English translation thanks to Kersplebedeb* NOTES
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