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Bennis shooting finally gets closer inspection; Cops in hot seat
by Stefan Christoff
Source: Hour August 21 2008
New probe into Bennis' deathSource: Hour August 21 2008
Community residents are mourning Fredy Villanueva, the 18-year-old shot dead by the Montreal police in Montreal North. His death sparked outrage across the city and comparisons to past police shootings.
In 2005, a 25-year-old Canadian of Moroccan heritage, Mohamed-Anas Bennis, was shot dead by the Montreal police in the early morning, outside a mosque in Côte-des-Neiges.
Just days after Villanueva's shooting, the Police Ethics Commission reopened its inquiry into the Bennis case, in response to an ongoing grassroots campaign lead by the victim's family and community.
"Until now we have seen no justice, so it is critical that people continue to stand behind my slain brother and call for justice," explains Najlaa Bennis, sister of Mohamed-Anas.
Until April of this year, when the Police Ethics Committee finally ordered a review of the case, the Bennis family had repeatedly asked to see information available on the case, but were denied access to the confidential police and coroner's reports, and a video of the incident.
The first review concluded the two cops were not careless nor did not use poor judgment in firing their service revolvers. However, the Bennis family has argued the ethics commission's work isn't impartial because it doesn't require cops to testify or face cross-examination.
"It is now critical that all the information on the killing of my brother
is brought out into the open, the fact that this hasn't happened until now is unacceptable," says Najlaa.
"Police actions will only change if the police are held to account," says Najlaa. "There are serious, serious systemic problems in police attitudes, with immigrant communities especially. Today the police continue to act with impunity, as the details on these police killings are never exposed and the deadly patterns continue."