Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations
Incidents include alleged urination on a homeless person and ridiculing a suspect.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
The SPVM confirmed that it has launched an internal investigation into two officers from Station 21, which covers downtown Montreal. (Charles Contant/CBC)
Photograph: CBC News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Two Montreal police officers have been suspended following reports of misconduct.
- One officer is accused of urinating on a person experiencing homelessness.
- A second officer faces allegations of posing for photos that ridiculed a suspect.
- The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has launched an internal investigation into both officers.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 14 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 5 of the 19 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
19 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 14 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Montreal police have suspended two officers from Station 21 following allegations of misconduct. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has confirmed an internal investigation into the officers. One officer is accused of urinating on a person experiencing homelessness while on duty. A separate allegation involves a second officer from the same station who is accused of posing for photos that ridiculed a suspect during an arrest.
La Presse first reported the alleged incidents, citing confidential sources. The newspaper stated that colleagues of the officers reported the behaviour. The SPVM has stated that it takes all allegations against its members seriously and is determined to investigate thoroughly. The force has declined to provide further details due to privacy obligations and to avoid compromising the investigation.
Disagreement on details
While most reports agree on the core allegations, CTV News reported that the officer accused of urinating on a homeless person is also being investigated for other alleged instances of inappropriate urination during police operations. Other reports do not specify further urination allegations against this officer.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated reports covered this story. The digests from outlets that did not provide full reports did not include specific details about the number of officers who reported the misconduct, nor did they detail the specific nature of the ridicule in the second officer's alleged actions beyond posing for photos.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 16 Oct 2026, 19:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
8 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led with the suspension of two Montreal police officers over allegations of misconduct, including one officer accused of urinating on a homeless person. These reports highlighted quotes from advocates and the mayor condemning the alleged acts as degrading and undermining human dignity. Several left-rated outlets, including CBC News and The Toronto Star, noted that the SPVM is also dealing with another scandal involving officers from Station 39 accused of racist and hateful acts. CBC News included details from a report on tensions between unhoused Montrealers and law enforcement, noting that 40 per cent of unhoused individuals surveyed felt targeted by police.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the suspension of two Montreal police officers and the internal investigation into alleged abuses of power, specifically mentioning the incident of an officer urinating on a homeless person and another officer posing for photos ridiculing a suspect. These reports included statements from Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who called the allegations "very serious" and stated they "strike at the dignity we all are entitled to." City councillor Ericka Alneus was quoted in CTV News expressing outrage and calling the alleged actions "humiliation." Like left-rated reports, centre-rated outlets also mentioned the ongoing scandal at Station 39.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations?
- Of the 14 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 57% are rated left, 43% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 19. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 14 rated outlets on this story, 57% are rated left, 43% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations biased?
- Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations is one event reported by 19 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Montreal police suspend two officers over misconduct allegations?
- 19 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What are the allegations against the two Montreal police officers?
- Two Montreal police officers have been suspended amid an internal investigation. One officer is accused of urinating on a person experiencing homelessness, and a second officer is accused of posing for photos ridiculing a suspect.
- Which police station are the officers from?
- Both officers are assigned to Station 21, which oversees the downtown Ville-Marie East area of Montreal, as well as surrounding districts.
- What has the police force said about the allegations?
- The SPVM has confirmed the suspensions and the launch of an internal investigation. They stated they take all allegations seriously and are determined to investigate thoroughly, but declined to provide further details due to privacy obligations and to avoid compromising the investigation.
Read it at the source
19 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
8- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Montreal police suspend 2 officers following report officer urinated on unhoused person (opens CBC News in a new tab)
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens NiagaraFallsReview.ca in a new tab)
NiagaraFallsReview.ca — is NiagaraFallsReview.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens St Catharines Standard in a new tab)
St Catharines Standard — is St Catharines Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
- A SPVM Policeman Suspended for Urinating on Homeless people... in Uniform. (opens Radio-Canada in a new tab)
Radio-Canada — is Radio-Canada biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Centre-Ville De Montréal: A Policeman Suspended for Urinating on a Homeless Man (opens La Presse in a new tab)
Centre
6- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens Narcity in a new tab)
- 2 Montreal police officers suspended for alleged abuses of power, including urinating on homeless person (opens CP24 in a new tab)
- Two SPVM Officers Suspended After Allegations Deemed "very... (opens Le Devoir in a new tab)
- 2 Montreal police officers suspended for alleged abuse of power, including urinating on homeless person (opens CTV News in a new tab)
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over misconduct allegations, including urinating on a homeless person (opens City News in a new tab)
- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens Winnipeg Free Press in a new tab)
Winnipeg Free Press — is Winnipeg Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
5- Two Montreal police officers suspended over new allegations of misconduct (opens mtlblog.com in a new tab)
mtlblog.com — is mtlblog.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Two SPVM Officers Suspended for Humiliating Acts (opens Journal Métro in a new tab)
Journal Métro — is Journal Métro biased? Our profile of this outlet
- A SPVM Policeman Suspended for Urinating on a Mobile (opens 24 heures in a new tab)
- A SPVM Policeman Suspended for Urinating on a Mobile (opens Le Journal de Quebec in a new tab)
Le Journal de Quebec — is Le Journal de Quebec biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Centre-Ville De Montréal: A Policeman Suspended for Urinating on a Homeless Man (opens La Presse in a new tab)
La Presse
How did this read?
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