EDITORIAL: The press pass will never be enough
On Saturday, March 15, Montreal police physically assaulted The Link’s photo editor, Andraé Lerone Lewis.
This took place while Lewis was on assignment, taking photos at Montreal’s annual anti-police brutality protest. The SPVM assaulted Lewis twice in the same day. The first instance occurred while they were trying to take pictures as police were swarming in on protesters. An officer violently shoved Lewis, causing them to fall to the ground.
The second instance came soon after, when protesters found themselves inside the Lionel-Groulx Metro station. While Lewis was trying to complete their assignment, multiple police officers backed them up against the banisters of a staircase. A police officer ripped off Lewis’s mask and hat, and started dragging them by their jacket. Another police officer kicked their hat to the side.
Lewis was verbally resisting the interaction, trying to discern under what circumstances the officers were attempting to move them off the metro stairs. The officers continued to shove The Link’s reporter, yelling at them to move. Police threatened to arrest them for obstruction. An arrest was not made.
Lewis repeatedly identified themselves as media and explained multiple times that they had a press pass and were shooting on assignment for The Link. The officers brushed off Lewis’s plea to distinguish themself as media, branding Lewis as “freelance”— as if that makes them any less of a reporter.
Lewis was doing their job. The police did not care and acted with pointed rage.
A press pass is a vital document for journalists to protect and identify themselves. Without them, we lose our ability to cover events somewhat safely and freely. We ask the SPVM: How are journalists supposed to protect themselves during a protest if police completely disregard freedom of the press? It is clear the SPVM gets off on shoving lenses away from their face and badges, so they can continue on a rampage of brutalization on reporters looking to capture precisely that.
The officers did not even care to look at Lewis’s official Link press pass. After our reporter said they were media, an officer responded, “You’re freelance, go home.” Our reporter was not an independent journalist, they are part of our publication. But this interaction shows the SPVM’s complete disregard for independent and non-mainstream journalists.
Fully oblivious to the irony of the situation, several SPVM officers brutalized Lewis for the crime of being a Black journalist holding a camera. Thankfully, Lewis was uninjured—yet this does not discount the fact they were left shaken up from the patronizing encounter.
It is evident these officers act with an inflated sense of authority, that they are above Canadian law, that at bare minimum protects the right to free press. It is evident these officers are sick with power-trips that cause them to threaten and brutalize journalists—because who else will hold them accountable?
Lewis was surrounded by other photojournalists and friends who documented the assault and helped them afterwards. The Link extends its gratitude to the photojournalists and reporters on site, who used their platform to spread the word of the injustice Lewis faced while they were trying to report on one of Montreal’s biggest annual protests.
However, the SPVM’s actions towards Lewis emphasize the dire need for these protests, as racially motivated police brutality in Montreal persists. The media has a right to be present at demonstrations and convey protesters’ messages without fear of physical or legal repercussions from the police. In January 2024, the Canadian Association of Journalists called on all levels of police to “swiftly implement enforceable policies that will prevent journalists from being improperly arrested or detained.”
This is not the first time a Link reporter has been assaulted while being on assignment. We are aware it won’t be the last. The Link will always aim to protect its journalists to the best of its abilities. However, the SPVM’s violence towards the media and protesters needs to stop now. Maybe if the SPVM looked into a mirror instead of protesters and visibly-marginalized individuals, they could redirect their bigoted anger towards the actual threat to society.
The Link calls on the SPVM to thoroughly re-consider its policing practices, especially towards BIPOC individuals and media members. We further urge the SPVM to ask officer Morn. M 5569 what specific law or protocol he was following when he ordered officers to swarm Lewis and charge them with obstruction. The Link is additionally curious to know how the SPVM will justify officer Chauvet 7761 actions when they shoved Lewis and stripped them of their mask. Is this the principled way to handle journalists, SPVM?
The onus also falls on Montreal and Quebec politicians to hold police divisions accountable to ensure officers do their job; serve, protect, foster and uphold a safe environment overall, especially at protests.
Montreal is notorious for allowing its officers to repress media and protesters by any means necessary, and with impunity. The Link vehemently believes that the city needs to punish racialized brutality and mandate its police force to make substantial reforms to serve and protect Montrealers properly.
