A Montreal mother is demanding an apology from police after officers intervened at a street-side lemonade stand run by her two young sons.
Ness Partush-Massa, 11, and Ariel Partush-Massa, 8, are working to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
For the second weekend in a row, they sold lemonade on the front lawn of their home on 14th Street in Roxboro.
“If we give a bunch of money to charity, we can find a cure for multiple sclerosis,” Ness told Global News.
The cause is very close to both boys’ hearts, as their mother Ayana Massa was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2020. She relies on a walker and wheelchair to get around.
“Every day is a battle, but having kids like that, how can I not fight for them?” Ayana said.
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Their secret recipe has helped raise more than $1,500.
However, things took an unfortunate and unexpected turn on Saturday.
“For such a beautiful story to turn into such a nightmarish disaster as it happened yesterday, I was shaking,” Ayana said on Sunday.
The mother said the boys periodically used a megaphone to attract customers, and an angry man approached them angrily.
“He said, ‘You little mothers. I’ll turn you off. So I told him to get the hell off my property. And he said, ‘I’m calling the police,'” she claimed.
Minutes later, she says the police arrived and told her the stand had to be closed.
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“I tell him, look, policeman, fine me. I will pay the fine. He said, “Oh, I’m not going to fine you. You think because you’re in a wheelchair you’re above the law,” she said.
She says the officer threatened to arrest her, so she started recording.
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“The guy had his hand on his holster and was telling me I was being aggressive and I told him to get off my property. He refused,” she said of her interaction with an officer.
Three hours later, she says the police left
“It ended with this sergeant telling me that my kids weren’t allowed to have their megaphone and that they didn’t want to come back here and arrest me,” she said.
Montreal police said they would not be able to comment on the case Sunday, explaining that more analysis would be needed before making any statement.
Retired Montreal police officer Andre Durocher wondered if the mother was unnecessarily escalating the situation. He says the police will rarely stop selling lemonade without a permit.
“In that case, it’s not necessarily the action on your property, it’s the distraction or the problem it causes,” he explained.
The mother wants an apology from the police.
Neighbors stopped by to show support for the boys on Sunday as they sold lemonade without their megaphone.
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