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CBC
27-05-2025
- CBC
Family of Montreal man who died after police altercation sees similarities to George Floyd
WARNING: This story contains graphic video and audio captured during violent police interventions. In a back alley snuggled between rows of apartment buildings in northeast Montreal, a group of family members are huddled for a vigil and a prayer. "Justice for the life of Abisay," said a woman, with her hands raised and eyes closed during a prayer in Spanish, referring to Abisay Cruz, a relative of hers who died on March 30 after an intervention by Montreal police turned violent. Two floors up from a fire escape just steps away, Cruz's grieving mother, Marcelina Isidro, sat on her balcony overlooking the group prayer — the same balcony where her son could be heard yelling " Je vais mourir," or "I'm going to die," in video footage that captured part of his altercation with police. "What happened is very difficult," Isidro told CBC News in Spanish. "I never thought my son would leave us, that my son would die so young." Sunday's vigil in the Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Michel took place on the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis, which galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked protests around the world about police brutality and racism. The people at the vigil point to the fact that, similar to how Cruz could be heard yelling that he was going to die, Floyd could be heard saying "I can't breathe" as police officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd's neck to the pavement for more than nine minutes. "It was the same situation with my brother. Someone who was asking for help, who couldn't breathe," said Josué Cruz, Abisay's younger brother. "And even then they just continued to put pressure on his back." Cruz was 29 years old. His only child, Enzo, is nine. Investigation into Cruz's death Cruz was one of two people in the Montreal area who died after a police intervention in a span of about 12 hours that weekend in late March. Quebec's police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), is investigating. According to the preliminary information the BEI released at the time, Montreal police responded to a 911 call on March 30 about a person in crisis near the corner of Pie-IX Boulevard and 47th Street. After police arrived and an altercation occurred between them and a man at the scene, the officers eventually restrained him. The BEI said the man, who was later identified as Cruz, suffered "malaise" and lost consciousness. He was given first-aid and transported to hospital where he was declared dead. WATCH | Family unites to hold vigil for Abisay Cruz: Family holds vigil for son on 5th anniversary of George Floyd's murder, says cases are similar 13 hours ago Duration 2:35 Abisay Cruz died after a police operation in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood in March. His family says his death and that of George Floyd in 2020 share common elements. Since then, videos that captured the police intervention have circulated, including footage that was released by the family about three weeks after Cruz's death. "We think that there are similarities in the ways that Mr. Cruz died and the way Mr. Floyd died," said Fo Niemi, the head of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR). "This is an opportunity to show that George Floyd can happen here in Montreal." Videos of the police altercation with Cruz show two officers restraining the 29-year-old father on the back balcony of the apartment where he lived with his mother. Cruz is face down on his stomach and the officers are kneeling. It's not clear if they're kneeling on or beside him. At one point, however, Cruz's legs appear to be thrashing against the balcony and he's clearly in distress. Another video from a different angle shared on social media picks up events a little later. In this video, Cruz can be seen struggling while an officer is clearly kneeling on his back. The family has called for a public coroner's inquiry. The coroner's office hasn't ruled that out yet. Montreal police declined CBC News's request for comment, citing the ongoing BEI investigation. Family to keep protesting until they get answers Cristian Bermudez was best friends with Cruz. He lived two apartment buildings away from him and they spent much of their childhood in the alley where people gathered for Sunday's vigil. "He was a loving guy. He was there for his friends — loyal," said Bermudez. "It's hard for everybody. It's been very hard, especially the way that he went out." Cruz's younger brother, Josué, said interactions between police and Black, Arab and Latino people in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood can often get tense and he maintains that his brother would still be alive if he were white. "The arrest would've unfolded differently," he said. Josué added that the grieving process has been difficult because the family doesn't have answers to its questions about what happened that day. He thinks the public gatherings and protests in his brother's honour will continue as long as that continues to be the case. "Even his son is asking questions, and he doesn't have answers," said Josué. "He's asking things like whether police are actually there to help." WATCH | What people are saying five years after George Floyd's murder: 5 years after George Floyd's murder, Americans see setbacks 1 day ago Duration 2:42 As Americans mark five years since unarmed Black man George Floyd was murdered by white police officer Derek Chauvin, demonstrators say promised police reforms have not happened — pointing out the Trump administration rolled back federal reform efforts in the days before the anniversary.
CBC
26-05-2025
- CBC
Family holds vigil for son on 5th anniversary of George Floyd's murder, says cases are similar
Abisay Cruz died after a police operation in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood in March. His family says his death and that of George Floyd in 2020 share common elements.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- CTV News
Family of Montreal man who died in police intervention still waiting for answers
Friends and family of Abisay Cruz say they're still waiting for answers nearly two months after he died during a police intervention.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Global News
Montreal family wants answers after loved one dies following police intervention
A makeshift memorial outside an apartment building in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood speaks to the anguish the Cruz family is experiencing. 'Because it's been nearly a month since my brother died and we have no information,' Josué Cruz, brother of Abisay Cruz told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, as their mother Marcelina Isidro fought back tears. Abisay Cruz, was declared dead in hospital after an intervention with Montreal police on March 30th at his mother's home. Neighbours and family members took video recordings and photos of the incident. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'In one of the videos one of the officers involved indeed did say yes, we know that you're in distress,' said family lawyer, René Saint-Léger. According to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), police were called to the apartment shortly after 8 a.m. responding to a person in crisis. Saint-Léger said the family doesn't know who placed the call, why police arrived in such large numbers, and why officers were, in the family's view, overly aggressive. Story continues below advertisement 'One witness said one officer kicked Mr. Cruz in the belly when he was already raising his hands as if to surrender,' said Fo Niemi, head of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), who is advocating for the family. Saint-Léger added that once Cruz was on the ground he was forcefully subdued, reminding them of what happened to George Floyd. 'One of the officers had his knee on his back, almost touching the neck of Mr. Cruz,' he pointed out. According to Niemi, the family still has not gotten a copy of the autopsy. Cruz says the family wants a public inquiry. A spokesperson for the BEI says their investigation is still ongoing and that their probes take an average of six months to complete.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Yahoo
Montrealers rally around family of man who died after police operation in Saint-Michel
WARNING: This story contains descriptions of police using force against an individual. A crowd of people made their distrust of Montreal's police corp known Sunday afternoon as they marched toward the Saint-Michel police post, just a few blocks south of where Abisay Cruz died on March 30. His was the second death following an operation by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) in less than 12 hours that weekend. Quebec's police watchdog, known by its French acronym BEI, has launched investigations into both cases. "The residents of this neighbourhood are anxious," said community organizer Stéphanie Germain, speaking in French at the start of the march. It began in front of the residence where police were dispatched near the intersection of Pie-XI Boulevard and 47th Street. Members of Cruz's family stood at a distance behind her, opting not to speak due to the ongoing BEI investigation. Some wore balaclavas and black hoodies with a picture of Cruz smiling and holding a cake on his 29th birthday, which he celebrated less than two weeks before he died. "We were told things would get better, but today we're afraid," Germain said. "Unfortunately, today we ask ourselves what is the role of police if not to protect." "The silence from the SPVM is heavy today." Members of Abisay Cruz's family led the march which started shortly after 3 p.m. in front of the residence where the police intervention took place on March 30, near the intersection of Pie-XI Boulevard and 47th Street. (Paula Dayan-Perez/CBC) Maymolina Umaña emigrated to Montreal from El Salvador and worked with Cruz's mother for five years. At Sunday's march, she told CBC the community feels the family's pain. "Leaving our countries to a country where they give us residence [and] refuge, to then die in that way and at 29 years old, a young man, it's to close the door on a whole life as much for him as for his family," she said in Spanish. Protestors continued to march past the police branch before turning back and gathering in front of the residence where the intervention took place. During the march, protestors threw pyrotechnics into the air at various points. SPVM spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils says police arrested six people – four for armed assault against an officer and two for assault also against an officer. She says nobody was injured. Police began to disperse the crowd around 5 p.m. and the event ended around 9 p.m. Stéphanie Germain, the executive director of non-profit Éduconnexion, spoke at the beginning of the march. Cruz's family members stood at a distance behind her. (Paula Dayan-Perez/CBC) What we know about Cruz's last moments On March 30 at 8:06 a.m., a call was placed to 911 reporting a person in crisis behind a residence, according to initial information released by the BEI. Montreal police officers arrived a few minutes later, and an altercation occurred between officers and a man at the scene and officers eventually restrained him. The BEI says the man, who was later identified as Cruz, suffered a "malaise" and lost consciousness. He was given first-aid and transported to hospital where he was declared dead, according to the BEI. Bystanders that morning caught some of the events on video and they have since been shared widely on social media. In one video, shared by WSC Montreal to Instagram, the unidentified person holding the camera says they saw officers hit Cruz while he was sitting down. They're filming the scene from a neighbouring balcony. The video shows two officers holding Cruz against the ground on a balcony, one of them kneeling against his back telling him to calm down. Cruz is lying on his front with his hands behind his back and sounds distressed. A third officer is trying to bust down the apartment door. Eventually three more officers climb up to the balcony. On Sunday, Germain said the lack of information around what exactly happened has created a lot of anxiety in the community. The BEI traditionally releases little information until its investigation is complete. Protestors stopped at the SPVM's Saint-Michel police branch where they were met by police officers in tactical gear. At some point during the event, police say they arrested six people - four for armed assault against an officer and two for assault. Nobody was injured, the SPVM says. (Paula Dayan-Perez/CBC) Germain said the family is asking for justice and answers to what happened. Germain, who is executive director of the organization Éduconnexion, says she was reflecting on the work she and other community workers do in Saint-Michel. "We work so hard on one side so for us to see a tragedy like this happen at the hands of the SPVM, for us it's like all the efforts we put in are for nothing," she said. Protestors express little faith in BEI investigation Cruz was one of three people who died following a police intervention in the province on the same weekend at the end of March. The first case happened Saturday evening in downtown Montreal. Another person died after an intervention from police in Quebec City on Sunday evening, March 30. The BEI is investigating all three cases. The BEI investigation into Cruz's death provides little reassurance, says Alexandre Popovic with the Coalition Against Police Repression and Abuse. He attended a separate vigil in downtown Montreal later Sunday held for the three men who died. A vigil was held at Place Émilie-Gamelin in Montreal on Sunday evening for three people who died on the weekend of March 29 and 30 after police interventions in Montreal and Quebec City. (CBC) For Popovic, what he saw in the video of Cruz's arrest amounted to police brutality. "We don't know the exact cause of death right now but for me one thing is really clear, if it wasn't for the SPVM, Mr. Cruz would still be alive today," said Popovic. "I fail to see the justification of all this brutality." Popovic points to the BEI's low conviction rate ever since the independent body began investigating deaths and serious injuries caused during police interventions in 2016. Out of its 446 investigations, including 41 currently ongoing, only 2 have resulted in judicial processes/legal action, according to the BEI's statistics. Tari Ajadi, an assistant professor of political science at McGill University, says that reaction from Popovic and other community members is understandable. "At a pretty fundamental level, people think that the game is rigged and if you look at the outcome they have every reason to think that," he said. "Even if the BEI is trying to conduct an 'objective' investigation, it's doing so on a backdrop of massive inequity and injustice." He says the BEI model should be redesigned, to avoid having former police officers investigate current officers. He said the investigations should lead to more change within the police forces themselves — something he says he hasn't seen yet. Ajadi says society needs to fundamentally question the role of police in cases involving people in distress. "At the end of the day, when you have an officer or a group of officers around a person in crisis and they're the ones meeting that person in crisis, you already have the context for a deadly situation to occur," he said.
