Montreal police have confirmed the suspension of two officers assigned to a downtown station following a report that an officer urinated on a person experiencing homelessness during working hours.
In a statement to CBC News, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) confirmed that it has launched an internal investigation into two officers from Station 21, which covers downtown Montreal.
The police response comes after a report published Friday by La Presse detailing the alleged incident, which reportedly disgusted colleagues who then reported the behaviour to superiors.
The SPVM declined to provide further details on the investigation, citing privacy obligations under provincial law.
“Be assured that the SPVM takes any allegation against one of its members seriously,” police said in its statement. “Regardless of the nature of an internal investigation, we are determined to get to the bottom of things and take the required actions.”
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Another officer from the same station was also suspended in recent weeks in connection with a separate case. According to La Presse, the officer allegegedly appeared to be posing and mocking a suspect placed in a humiliating position during an arrest.
The officers have not yet formally presented a defence.
Annie Savage, executive director of the advocacy group RAPSIM (Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal), said she was “extremely shocked” but not surprised by the allegations, citing what she regularly hears from people living on the streets.
“It’s hard to imagine a more degrading or violent act,” Savage told Radio-Canada’s Tout un matin.
Savage added that relations between police and unhoused residents have deteriorated as the city’s homelessness crisis has deepened. She warned that police should not treat the incident as an isolated case.
Last June, RAPSIM released a joint report with legal aid organization Clinique Droits Devant that outlined tension between unhoused Montrealers and law enforcement, including Montreal police officers and special constables patrolling the city’s transit network.
The study found that 40 per cent of unhoused individuals surveyed felt heavily ticketed or targeted, while 66 per cent reported rarely or never being treated like other members of the public. None of the respondents expressed high confidence in police during an emergency, with many saying they avoid calling 911 out of fear of being treated as suspects.
The report documented cases of physical and verbal abuse, unjustified searches, an increased reliance on private security guards in public spaces, and heightened surveillance across the Metro system.
The allegations come as Montreal prepares for La Nuit des sans-abri, an annual event held across Quebec to raise awareness about homelessness.
In a statement to CBC, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said the allegations are “extremely serious and undermine the dignity every person deserves.”
She added: “I applaud the police officers who spoke up to report this situation. The investigation must now run its course so the full truth can come to light.”
The Montreal police brotherhood, the union representing SPVM officers, said in a statement it “firmly condemns” any behaviour that violates human dignity or breaches professional standards.
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While declining to comment on the specific allegations, the brotherhood called the reported conduct contrary to the values of Montreal police officers.
The SPVM is in the midst of another scandal involving its officers. A patrol unit at Station 39 in Montréal-Nord was disbanded last June after officers allegedly racially profiled residents.
