One person dead in Inukjuak after reported police shooting
Quebec’s police watchdog launches investigation
The Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes has launched an independent investigation into a fatal police shooting in Inukjuak Thursday. (File photo)
Police shot and killed one person in Inukjuak Thursday, marking the third fatal police shooting in Nunavik in eight months.
The incident occurred when officers from Nunavik Police Service responded to a 911 call at 10:19 p.m., reporting that someone was being held against their will, a news release from Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes, Quebec’s police watchdog, said.
Police arrived at 10:25 p.m. and made contact with a person who then allegedly approached police with a “bladed weapon.”
Police officers allegedly fired at the person, who was then injured by the police gunfire, the release said.
“First aid was reportedly provided to the person by police officers on the scene until first responders arrived.”
The person was then brought to the health centre and pronounced dead.
The release did not say anything about the age or sex of the person who was shot. It did not identify the police officers or say how many there were.
The police watchdog was notified of the shooting at 11:30 p.m. and launched an independent investigation into the incident, bureau spokesperson Jérémie Comtois said in a statement.
Investigators left Montreal on Friday morning and were scheduled to arrive in Inukjuak in the afternoon, Comtois said.
Inukjuak Mayor Bobby Epoo said in an email that he’s waiting on a full update from investigators before offering a comment.
He said he hopes Nunavik police can work with the community to find solutions that will stop them from resorting to deadly force.
There have been two other fatal shootings by police officers in Nunavik over the past eight months. Police in Kangiqsualujjuaq shot and killed Mark R. Annanack in May. And last November, in Salluit, police shot and killed Joshua Papigatuk and seriously wounded his twin brother Garnet.
In a recent interview with Nunatsiaq News, incoming bureau head Brigitte Bishop said she wants to improve how her organization conducts investigations in Nuvavik by collaborating with the communities and overcoming cultural and language barriers.
Hand in your badge Chief Larose👮♂️
Let s get the facts first , before comming to a judgement .
Yes, let me give you the facts. 3 dead in 8 months by the firearms of the police. Only a few hours online course of cultural sensitivity training is provided and needed to become an officer in Nunavik. Young inexperienced cadets are being becoming officers with very little training. There are other tools available to use in order to subdue and apprehend a suspect, other than shooting their firearms, killing them. The creation of Nunavik’s Public Security Council has no legal weight and has no impact to protect the beneficiaries of Nunavik. Which I my add, was signed by KRG, Makivvik and NOT the police chief or any representative of the NPS. It’s time to force the chief of police to resign, abolish the NPS and bring in the SQ until KRG can create a more experienced, culturally sensitive adding mental health crises and substance abuse trained Police force. If it takes ten years so be it. But for now enough is enough and changes are needed immediately.
Yes i agree fully
Yes the police chief needs to resign, it’s honour to the population. Hes asking for such large sum of money to police in Nunavik and hes preaching garbage when he stands behind solutions, go police chief go.
Disarm the krpf. Nunavik police shooters !
Hey thumbs downers. I will think about you guys when theres another shot fired when our another inuuqatik loses its life.
Third fatal shooting within 8 months!
When will Quebec government take action about this? Do we even matter as inuit? What will it take to really wake up and see the reality? 3 FATAL SHOTS WITHIN 8 MONTHS!
Isn’t there tasers that can be used instead of guns? I’ll bet alcohol was involved. Such a tragic loss of life.
The third in a short several months period. Sidearms as a constant wear by KRPF police need be given a sober second thought/review.
At some point you have to ask “how can we trust to ever call the police when we need them?” They’re just going to shoot down anyone in a mental breakdown with what ever in their hands… that is if it is true that they had anything in their hands.
Putting money into police service is ridiculous. Wake up leadership. Mental health services needs it. The leadership of Nunavik are allowing young uneducated, untrained policemen and women to patrol the Nunavik communities as soldiers in a war against inuit, many mentally ill inuit. The recruits receive minimum training if that about inuit culture and then lie in the shadow of our communities waiting for action. The solution is to shoot rather than intervene, and we know nothing about thsrs police living in the shadow of our space. I thinking its got so bad on inuit life that we be better off not having any police like that, that just gravely lieb in wait, dont know anyone, just there on duty from the south waiting to draw the pistol, same as deploying to middle east like iraq somewhere. Terrible leaders do something for your people.
Isn’t Inuit at KRG leading the political agenda? And to keep the NPS in operation while this messed gets sorted out? Shame on all of you. Nunavik police are displaying behaviour similar to what we see in usa, with deportations. Except they are killing more inuit per population. Inuit are finished in the home land. The police are same as a military intervention on the Nunavik population, and the self serving leaders are doing nothing. I urge the protesters this time to direct the protest in a peaceful way towards inuit that sit at KRG, and allowed inuit to be such vulnerable to death and injury, not to mention the fear and degradation of quality of life in Nunavik population. Stop this mess leadership, now its overtime. Its late, and damage is unrelenting.
3 FATAL shootings of Nunavik Inuit in 3 months. 1) the NPS chief of police must go. RESIGN or QUIT. We don’t care; 2) young francophone or anglophone NPS officers who recently graduated from the police academy must attend a cultureal sensitivity classes regarding Inuit heritage and living conditions; 3) the Kativik Regional Government who started the police force in Nunavik Quebec must also be investigated for allowing their employees to abuse their authority; 4) Makivik Corporation must also look within themselves and agree to an outside independant investigating organization to investigate BEI. The BEI investigating their own and we are being told that it was a justifiable shooting; 5) The Quebec government also do a thorough investigation on the monies they give to KRG in their policing; 6) The federal government of Canada should also launch an investigation on the millios of dollars they give to the KRG and how their spending of millions of dollars are killing Inuit people of Nunavik Quebec; 7) The population of Nunavik, the Inuit must look within themselves and ask themselves if their cause of being violent is consuming alcohol or other illicit drugs; 8) before placing all the blame on the police force, the Inuit must take on a percentage of the responsibility for their physical, mental or emotional actions and what the consequences will be if they tend to break the laws of society; 9) Each Town Municipality Mayor’s and council member must create open public town Municipality meetings to discuss the symptoms the Inuit create while being intoxicated on any or all alcoholic beverages and or illicit drugs or prescription drugs; 10) The Inuit of Nunavik must hold and take responsibility for their own actions and behaviors.
It is time to stop allowing yourselves to be treated like spoiled children and to take responsibility as a grown adult.
STOP PLAYING THE BLAME GAME
Accept the way people treat each other.. accept how spoil the people are.. accept they are the problem themselves…everyone dies…
So what…. really shows how stupid the committees really are….serve them rigth for getting mad stupidly… they just want resources from you all.. lol
$528m at work for nunavik by Nunavik.
Ever walk into krg and see how many beneficiaries actually ever have a say in the decisions made? You do know where the budget comes from, right?
With that being said, I’m more scared of police roaming the streets than the actual criminals. “Prank calls” the other day in inukjuak had them take out the assault style weaponry.
Live stock need watchdogs when there are coyotes, wolves or mountain lions aka predators about to protect the livestock.
Junk yards need watchdogs when thieves are about steeling copper to protect the copper
Watchdogs are for protection so why do police need a watchdog? They need an oversight committee, they need an independent civilian commission that provides citizens transparency and and holds police officers accountable when they make mistakes.
Police watchdog…..so police officers have a protector?
The solution is simple. Respect the lawful authority of the police. Recognize that the police are trying to maintain law and order.
They work hard to save lives. If you persecute them and disrespect them enough, you won’t have any police. It’s then you will find out what a vital service they performed, when the ruffians and criminal element takes over. Respect the police before you can’t find anyone to serve in that role.