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Firas Zahabi, the renowned coach who trained Georges St-Pierre, has accused the Montreal police of harassment. Zahabi, 41, claimed he has been facing police misconduct despite complying with the rules.
Zahabi is the owner of Tristar gym, located in Montreal, Quebec. According to him, a women's clothing store situated one floor below his training center, named RD International Style Inc., has been incessantly calling the police to bother him over a parking dispute.
"The police are coming almost every day because of a company that lives downstairs, my neighboring company called RD International," said Zahabi in his YouTube video. "They keep calling the police on me because they want my parking spots. At the end of the day, they don't want my instructors parking so they can park their luxury cars," he added.
Zahabi said the police have visited his gym 16 times. He claimed they had no coherent answer when he asked them what rules he could be breaking. The 41-year-old then cited prejudice as a reason behind the actions of the Montreal police.
"The next time you see a video, 'Tristar gym harassed by the police', just know that it's gonna be the 17th time they come and check on me. And each time I'm within compliance. What kind of prejudice is this?" said Zahabi.
The police laughed on my face - Firas Zahabi
In the live stream video uploaded on Tristar Gym's YouTube account, Firas Zahabi said police were not willing to listen to him. He claimed that when he asked them to inspect the RD International store regarding their compliance with the COVID-19 regulations, the police laughed at his face.
"My neighbors downstairs; when I complained about them, they (the police) laughed. They didn't even want to check. You have 15 cops here, why don't you go downstairs and check, see their capacity. They wouldn't even listen to me," said Zahabi.
Tristar Gym was established in 1991. The erstwhile owner, Alexandre Choko, sold the MMA training center to Firas Zahabi in 2008. The said gym has produced UFC fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Kevin Lee, Rory MacDonald, and Arnold Allen.
According to Firas Zahabi, one gym instructor is permitted to conduct private lessons in a Montreal-based gym.
