A video going viral in Canada’s Muslim community shows the arrest of a Moroccan man at a public pool in the Quebec city of Laval.
A video going viral in Canada’s Muslim community shows the arrest of a Moroccan man at a public pool in the Quebec city of Laval.
The video and accompanying text don’t clarify when the arrest took place but the video was posted to Facebook Monday afternoon.
The poster’s explanation of the events shown in the video reveal that the man in question is of Moroccan origin, the son of a Moroccan man, now a Canadian citizen, who has been living in Quebec for six years.
According to the text, the man had been visiting a public pool when an employee approached him and told him he would have to leave because he was wearing shorts. The man complied but called city officials who told him that shorts were accepted attire at the pool.
When he returned to the pool the employee called Laval police to have him removed from the premises. The start of the video shows the man already on the ground, two Laval police officers attempting to subdue him in order to bring him into custody.
What the text doesn’t mention is the presence of several men in the video clearly wearing the disputed article of clothing, shorts, and not being bothered.
As the video continues, the Moroccan man becomes more agitated. Toward the end of the video, three other police officers appear on camera and lift the man off the ground, leading him away from the pool.
What appears to be at the heart of the issue is not the nature of the man’s arrest, but rather the reason suggested for it and the treatment the man now says he received at the hands of Laval police after he was taken into custody. Alleging assault, the man is now seeking to press charges and have the chance to defend himself in court.
There have also been allegations that the other officers present uttered racial slurs and threats against the man. The comments are alleged to have been made when they were off-camera and, therefore, were not part of the recording.
