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Walking along the pedestrian-only area of Ste-Catherine St. E. this past Saturday afternoon, I see a Nigerian-Canadian man — let’s call him Stephen — get stopped by the police for riding his bike.

Riding a bike in this area comes with a posted minimum fine of $100 (which is about as well-signed as anything else in Montreal).

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Stephen points out to the officers that they haven’t pulled over any of the three or four other (white) people within view doing the exact same thing. In fact, a woman and a man ride up behind me and watch this situation unfold.

When Stephen starts to get upset, the police make him park his bike and stand on the curb. He goes to sit in the shade of a storefront after five minutes of waiting. The police continue to keep him waiting — for half an hour — while they ask him questions and appear to be consulting colleagues by radio.

A small crowd looks on. In light of recent race-related violence in the United States, everybody is clearly uneasy. I stand removed from the situation, but close enough so the officers can see my camera. Stephen is clearly tired. He is clearly humiliated.