About a year ago, I visited my father's grave at a Muslim cemetery in
Laval, Quebec. On leaving, I noticed a freshly dug grave.
It haunted me for a brief moment. I then realized why. It was the final
resting place of Mohammed-Anas Bennis, 25, who was shot and killed by
Montreal police a few days earlier on Dec. 1, 2005.
The circumstances surrounding Mr. Bennis's death were shrouded in
mystery. The young man had performed his dawn prayers at a local
mosque, and was walking home in the Côte des Neiges district of
Montreal. Unbeknown (and unrelated) to him, provincial and municipal
police had a warrant to conduct a fraud investigation in the vicinity.
According to police accounts, Mr. Bennis approached two officers, and
attacked one for “no apparent reason” with a knife. The officer fired
back twice, killing him instantly. The police also confirmed the
existence of a video recording of the event. Its quality, however, was
“too poor” to be of any use.
Mr. Bennis had no criminal record, nor, according to his family, did he
have a history of mental illness. He was a “regular Quebecker” who
played hockey, joined the marine cadets and did well in school. He was
known to be polite, generous, and always smiling. Furthermore, the
family found it totally out of character for Mr. Bennis to have carried
a knife, let alone attack an officer.
The incident touched a nerve among Quebec's visible minorities.
Mr. Bennis was bearded and wore a Muslim headdress and traditional robe
when he was shot — raising the spectre of racial profiling. A month
later, a public protest was held in the bitter cold outside Montreal
City Hall.
Former immigration minister Denis Coderre joined local activists and
community groups demanding an independent inquiry into the death of Mr.
Bennis.
In keeping with provincial law, the shooting death was investigated by
an outside police force. On April 13, the Quebec City police force
concluded its investigation, and submitted its report to the Crown
prosecutor. In a terse press release on Nov. 4 — almost seven months
later, and almost 11 months after the incident — the Crown announced no
charges would be laid. The police had acted in self-defence and the
officers were exonerated of any wrong-doing.
Further, the Quebec Minister of Public Security refused to release the
police report to the family.
Needless to say, the Bennis family has gone through much heartache in
trying to find the truth of what happened. All they have to go on is
the original coroner's report that cites Montreal police alleging that
Mr. Bennis attacked the police “for no apparent reason.” The family
wonders how it is that Mr. Bennis was shot twice at close range, with
each bullet entering from above the shoulder and lodging in his vital
organs. They wonder about the role of the second officer. The ensuing
secrecy has made the ordeal even more painful, fuelling suspicion of a
cover-up. Khadija Bennis, Mohammed's twin sister, recently told a
Montreal radio station: “We have the feeling that we're being lied to
and something is being hidden from us ... It's hard to believe that the
system will give us the truth.”
The case bears striking resemblance to that of Ian Bush, who was killed
onOct. 29, 2005, in British Columbia while in RCMP custody. Mr. Bush,
22, was arrested for having an open beer outside a local hockey game
and giving police officers a false name. Twenty minutes after his
arrest, the RCMP allege the young man “became very violent and attacked
[an] officer.” The coroner's report shows that Mr. Bush received a
bullet in the back of the head. Audio and video recording equipment in
the police station had been turned off. Like Mr. Bennis, Mr. Bush has
been described as a nice kid with no history of violence.
The RCMP investigated itself, and asked a local police force to review
its results. On Sept. 5 (10 months after the shooting), the B.C.
Criminal Justice Branch announced that no charges would be laid. The
RCMP officer was exonerated for acting in self-defence. In spite of
requests, the investigative report has not been released to the family.
Needless to say, the Bush family is less than satisfied with the
results. Like the Bennis family, they, too, want to know what happened
to their son. They don't believe the official story, and have been
stymied at every step by police secrecy. According to Jason Gratl,
president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, “this case is
receiving an extraordinary high level of secrecy. We ... are at a loss
to explain why. But what we can say is the underlying fact pattern —
the bullet in the back of the head — reeks to high heaven.”
The Bush family has decided to pursue the truth by launching a lawsuit
against the RCMP, the B.C. Attorney-General and Solicitor-General. In
addition, the RCMP Commission for Public Complaints is investigating
the case.
In Montreal, the Bennis family is weighing its options. While there is
a civilian-run police-review apparatus, it does not investigate police
shootings. And while Mr. Bush's death has been raised in the B.C.
Legislative Assembly, no Quebec MNA has yet raised the Bennis case in
the National Assembly. On Dec. 19, Montreal City Councillor Richard
Bergeron, questioning police conduct, demanded release of the police
report.
If there is a common thread between the two cases, it is the lack of
police accountability in the death of two young men. Two families are
grieving, frustrated by police secrecy. In both cases, no independent
investigation has been conducted. While Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor has
recommended robust oversight of the RCMP, police unions in Quebec have
repeatedly rejected calls for the establishment of powerful independent
review bodies.
During the Bush investigation, RCMP Staff Sergeant John Ward told The
Globe and Mail that “the public doesn't have a right to know anything.”
In a democracy, we sure do. It's the system of checks and balances that
ensures that all of us — including the police — are acting within the
law.