Black driver of Mercedes arrested in 'egregious' case of racial profiling, Montreal rights group says

A black man driving a Mercedes says he was pulled over and handcuffed, then detained in the back of a Montreal police squad car while a video recording of the incident was erased.

"Theywillfully, and wrongly, arrested me,"KenrickMcRae told a news conference on Sunday alongside Fo Niemi, the executive director of the Center on Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR).

In a news release issued Sunday, Niemicalled the incident"one of the most egregious cases of racial profiling we've seen."

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The release goes on to detail what allegedlyhappened to the 45-year-old father of two, who works at Trudeauairport and has no criminal record.

McRae said he was waiting for his femalecompanion to withdraw money from an RBC branch onWestminster Avenue in Montreal West on March 3when a police car stoppedparallel to his car on the other side of the road.

I've been stopped so often asa black man driving a Mercedes, and getting a cam recorder is one way for me to protectmyself from the police.- KenrickMcRae

The squad carthen made a U-turnand stopped directly behind him, and an officer asked for his licence and registration.

McRaesaid that, after checking his papers, theofficer told himhis lights above in his licence plateweren't working.

Hegot out of the car with avideo camera to record that the lights were, in fact, fully functional.

At that point, one officer asked himto handover the recorder and, when McRaeasked why, he was arrested for what the officer called "disturbance," he said.

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McRaewas then placed in the back of the police car whilehis camera was seized and the videoerased, he said. Family videos were also deleted, he said.

He was released after the two arresting officers told him they did not find anything to charge him with, hesaid. The incident ended up involving a total of four police cars and up to eight officers, according to CRARR.

'Stopped so often as a black man driving a Mercedes'

McRae said he tried to bring up the issue with a supervisor at the scene, whoignored his complaint.It was only after he later called 911 and was able to speak to a different supervisor that he was able to file hiscomplaint.

McRaesaid he keeps the camera in the car because he is stopped by policeevery month or two and wants to ensure any wrongdoing is documented.

"I've been stopped so often as a black man driving a Mercedes, and getting a cam recorder is one way for me to protect myself from the police," McRae said in thenews release.

"But never in my life did I imagine the police would arrest me for filing what I consider to be evidence of racial profiling, seize my cam recorder and erase my recordings."

Plans to file formal complaint

CRARR's executive director, Fo Niemi, said McRae was arrested for "no clear reason."

Niemi said CRARR plans to help McRae file a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission and the police ethics commissioner.

Montreal police commented on the case Monday.

The police force has been dogged by accusations of racial discrimination for years.

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A 2011 report by Quebec Human Rights Commission found that ethnic minorities in Quebec are subject to "police surveillance that is targeted and disproportionate."

Former chief Marc Parent acknowledged in 2014 that racial profiling was an ongoing issue within his department.

"We do have a racial profiling problem It's not the majority, but we have to work on that every day," Parent told Daybreak at the time.