“They Beat Me, Then Charged Me”: Gulaid Omar Speaks Out After Brutal Assault by Quebec Police

When Gulaid Omar travelled  to Montreal late  last year, he was riding high. A major career milestone had just been reached, a testament to years of hard work, late nights, and quiet perseverance. He traveled to the city to mark the occasion with friends. But instead of celebration, the trip ended in trauma, bloodshed, and a long legal fight that is still far from over.

In a harrowing interview, Gulaid shares how he was violently assaulted by Quebec police while simply waiting outside his rental vehicle and how, instead of receiving justice, he was slapped with criminal charges.

“I Was Just Standing There”

It was a quiet evening in downtown Montreal. Gulaid had parked his rental vehicle and was standing nearby, waiting for friends to arrive so they could head to celebrate .

“I wasn’t doing anything suspicious. Just waiting,” he says. “I’d had a good day. I was proud of what I’d achieved. And then everything changed.”

According to Gulaid, two officers approached him and demanded that he get back in his vehicle.  He tried to answer calmly, but says he quickly realized the situation was spiraling.

“And then it turned violent.”

What followed, Gulaid says, was a brutal physical assault. He was thrown to the ground, and struck repeatedly. His injuries included bruised ribs, a sprained wrist, a concussion and cuts to his face and head. Eyewitnesses described the force used as excessive and unprovoked.

“They wouldn’t stop hitting me, even when I was face-down on the pavement,” he says. “I begged them to stop.”

Quebec police charged him with two counts of assaulting police and one count of resisting arrest.

“They assaulted me, and then they charged me,” he says. “It’s backwards. I’m the one with injuries. I’m the one who needed help. But now I’m being treated like a criminal.”

Legal experts have long warned of a troubling pattern in such cases where victims of police violence are preemptively charged as a way to justify use of force and to discourage civil suits.

“It’s about control,” Gulaid says. “If they charge you, they get to shape the narrative.”

Still No Accountability

Despite the severity of his injuries and eyewitness accounts that contradict the police version of events, Gulaid says no officer has been disciplined or even publicly named.

His legal team has filed a formal complaint with Quebec’s Police Ethics Commissioner, and they are exploring civil litigation.

“We’re not letting this go,” Gulaid says. “There has to be accountability — not just for me, but for everyone who’s been through this.”

As of now, his criminal case is ongoing. He is out on conditions but says the mental and emotional strain has been overwhelming.

A Wider Pattern

Gulaid’s story is not an isolated one. In recent years, growing attention has been paid to racial profiling and the use of force by police in Quebec, particularly against Black and Indigenous individuals.

A 2019 report from Montreal’s Public Security Committee revealed that Black people are stopped by police at a rate four times higher than white residents. Civil rights groups have called for independent oversight, transparency, and stronger consequences for misconduct demands that have largely gone unmet.

Despite the trauma and the legal fight ahead, Gulaid says he’s determined not to be silenced. Supported by family, friends, and a growing network of advocates, he is telling his story publicly and unapologetically.

Watch the Interview: https://www.youtube.com/live/D2jcOInj2ps?si=-4lmpO7DBZ47l1aB