Nunavik regional government mourns death of Kativik police officer

Flags from Quebec, Canada and the Kativik Regional Government were lowered to half-mast March 4 at the KRG office in Kuujjuaq in honour of Cst. Steve Dery of the Kativik Regional Police Force, who was shot and killed March 2 when he and another member of the KRG-run police force responded to a call about a domestic dispute. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Five days after Cst. Steve Dery of the Kativik Regional Police Force died March 2 while responding to a call in Kuujjuaq, the Kativik Regional Government, which oversees Nunavik’s police force, issued a statement of condolences.

“I want to offer my heartfelt prayers to everyone who has been affected by this event,” Tunu Napartuk, the mayor of Kuujjuaq, said in the release, posted in Inuttitut, English and French, on the KRG website.

“The community is in mourning. As each day passes, we will need to continue searching deep within ourselves for the collective strength to recover from this terrible incident.”

Maggie Emudluk, KRG chairperson, said that she wanted to express “my sincerest condolences to the family of Constable Dery.”

“This has been a tragedy for the KRPF, which plays an important role in our communities, for the community of Kuujjuaq and for the entire region,” Emudluk said.

The KRG said KRPF and the Ottawa Police Service are working with Dery’s family on arrangements for a police funeral.

The service is scheduled for 11 a.m. March 9 at the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ottawa. An official tribute will follow, the KRG said.

A delegation from the KRPF will attend the funeral, thanks to support from the Nunavik Police Association, First Air and Air Inuit.

The KRG is also accepting messages of condolence, which may be emailed to: condolences@krg.ca