Police officers who searched a ‘man purse’ did not engage in profiling: court [Video]

Two Montreal police officers were justified in stopping and searching a man after they became suspicious of his “man purse” and his behaviour, a Quebec court judge has found.

Police stopped Marcus Nimeri, 24, in October 2023 and found a loaded handgun that had been illegally modified in his shoulder bag.

But his lawyer, David Leclair argued the gun shouldn’t have been admitted as evidence because police had no reason to stop Nimeri, who was committing no crime by wearing the small shoulder bag as he walked down a city street during the day.

But Quebec Court judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote in his April 18 decision, that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that such bags are often used to carry handguns.

“To dispel any ambiguity, police officers can — and should — certainly pay particular attention to man purses, in light of other evidence,” he wrote, adding that such …