Newsflash: Montreal cops now to dress like cops
You may have noticed something a bit strange if you happened to pass a police officer yesterday morning. No red cap, no camouflage pants, just an ordinary Montreal cop uniform. That’s because, in order to speed up contract negotiations, the patriarchal-sounding Montreal Police Brotherhood, the union representing Montreal’s police officers, has agreed to drop its pressure tactics.
In what many have seen as a rather bizarre form of protest, Montreal cops have been sporting the aforementioned paramilitary fatigues, occasionally switching the pants out for pajamas since July. This even became a contentious issue before the recent anti-police brutality march as many felt the military look could provoke violence. Turns out the extra provocation wasn’t a factor as the teargas thrown by police and cordoning off several streets sparked plenty of violence on its own.
The choice of using costuming as a form of protest is an interesting one for the Montreal police, considering they have been petitioning the city to ban the use of theatrical costuming, in particular masks, at public protests. However the made-for-Afghanistan dress code seems to be in keeping with recent statements by Yves Francoeur that: “as police officers, repression is our job. We don’t need a community relations officer for a director, we need a general. Let’s keep in mind that the police force is, after all, a paramilitary body.”
Maybe now with resumed negotiations and possibly better pay, the cops can go back to being cops instead of a paramilitary force because after all, a community relations officer would probably be better-equipped to solve a pay dispute than a general. Then maybe they could leave the dress-up games and theatrical expression through costuming to the artists, activists and the general public they are supposed to be protecting.
