Most police forces across Quebec are refusing to answer questions from investigators with the province's independent police watchdog after a court affirmed the right of officers not to incriminate themselves.

Their whole job is to serve and protect... and to uphold the law.

How can you do any of that that while refusing to answer questions about the job you are doing, because it might incriminate you?

The Edmonton Police Service discriminated against two Black men by perceiving them as perpetrators of a crime when they had been trying to stop one, according to a recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta.

Yousef John and Caesar Judianga made human rights complaints in 2018 after being pepper-sprayed and arrested in 2017.

The men, who had called 911 for help, alleged that police treated them badly in part because of their race.

The tribunal found their complaints against EPS had merit.

At around 3:15 a.m. on May 5, 2017, Judianga heard a disturbance outside the residence he shared with John and a third man, Harry Lado.

When Judianga looked outside, he saw a white woman with pink hair throw what looked like a large rock through the window of the car that belonged to Lado's wife.

The three men chased the woman and while John called 911, Lado, a former bouncer, held her in place with his hands on her shoulders.

According to the decision, within less than a minute of arriving on the scene and without warning, EPS Const. Jordan Steele aimed his pepper spray at Lado, then John and Judianga. The woman received some spray in her eyes, but not as much as the men, whose eyes began to tear and burn.

The decision said Const. Steele, who was smaller than the three men, felt the situation was dangerous and that Lado was possibly assaulting the woman.

Steele then arrested the three men, told them to lie down and handcuffed them. Another police officer, Const. Celia Frattin, arrived and helped with the handcuffing.

The men accused the police officers of discrimination and during a heated discussion between them and the police, Frattin told them they were lucky it was just pepper spray because they "could have been shot."

Todd's kick knocked Dumas unconscious and caused his brain to swell. The teen spent nine days in intensive care. Part of his skull was surgically removed and eventually replaced with a metal plate.

The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) had previously decided against pursuing charges against Todd despite a report from Alberta's policing watchdog in April of this year that found the officer displayed a "shocking lack of judgment and disregard" for the teen's life.

Following its investigation, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) asked the prosecution service to consider laying excessive-force charges against Todd, but the Crown declined to prosecute.

In response, Dumas and his lawyer, Heather Steinke-Attia, attempted to prosecute Todd independent of the Crown, a rarely used legal tactic that aimed to put the matter before a judge with the Alberta Court of Justice.

On Sept. 11, Dumas filed what is called a private information, swearing that a crime had been committed and alleging Todd committed aggravated assault.

However, the Crown has ultimate decision-making power on all forms of prosecutions in the
province and whether they should proceed.

The case was set to go before a judge next week in a pre-enquete hearing that has now been cancelled.