Police followed protocol during armed stand-off in Nunavik: report

Montreal police have completed their investigation into an armed stand-off in Inukjuak last week, which ended in the death by suicide of a local man. (FILE PHOTO)

Montreal police have completed their investigation into an apparent hostage taking in Inukjuak last week that ended in the death by suicide of a local man.

Investigators found that police followed protocol during an armed stand-off that spanned more than 24 hours, deeming the case closed, Montreal Police Service spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant told Nunatsiaq News March 31.

The stand-off began late March 23 when officers with the Kativik Regional Police Force responded to a call that a woman and two babies were being held at a residence.

The KRPF called in negotiators with Quebec’s provincial police, the Sûreté du Québec, who said they helped negotiate the release of the hostages, who were unharmed.

But the stand-off ended early March 24 when the 24-year-old man shot himself and died.

Montreal police were called in at that point. Any time someone dies during a police operation, an outside force must be called in to investigate.

Investigators flew into Inukjuak March 26 and March 27 to visit the residence and interview witnesses.

Brabant said investigators found that police followed protocol and handled the incident in a secure fashion.

Residents of the Hudson coast community have disputed the police’s description of the event as a hostage taking.

Many say the so-called hostage — the victim’s mother — made her own decision to stay at home with her distraught son, along with her infant grandchildren, the children of the victim.

But Brabant responded that “with the information we have, it was considered a hostage-taking,” he said.

Montreal police said that, once police were able to free the woman and babies, negotiators were able to have a discussion with the man, who then later ended his own life.

Police have withheld the name of the victim out of respect for the family’s privacy, Brabant said.