A young black man says Montreal police ticketed him while dancing outside his car to make his girlfriend laugh.
Andrew Denis-Lynch says it happened outside his girlfriend's house in the middle of the night March 7 in Cote des Neiges, after a trip for ice cream with her 15-year-old sister.
The couple spoke with reporters Sunday, claiming a female officer saw Denis-Lynch, stopped in her cruiser, and asked inapppropriate questions. They claim questions included why he was so happy and whether it was his car.
Fo Niemi with the Center for Research Action on Race Relations says police questioning was inappropriate. One of his chief critiques: "Asking if this is your car...there's a presumption there. Like a black man cannot own a car."
Among other things, a complaint will be filed with the police ethics commissioner.
There is no comment yet from Montreal police on the case.
A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Denis-Lynch as from Cote-des-Neiges. The 26 year old is in fact from Kirkland. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.