Nunavik teen faces seven charges following stand-off with police

The Kativik Regional Police Force detachment in Inukjuak is pictured here. Police in the Nunavik community responded to calls about an armed man in crisis Nov. 14. The suspect now faces seven charges, including uttering threats and careless use of a firearm. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

An Inukjuak teen faces seven charges in relation to a weekend stand-off with police in this Nunavik community.

Kativik Regional Police Force officers responded to a call about a man in crisis the afternoon of Nov. 14.

Once the officers arrived, they encountered an 18-year-old man on the front porch of a residence, armed and allegedly threatening police with his firearm until police fired at the suspect.

That suspect, Peter Weetaluktuk, made a court appearance Nov. 16 — likely by video conference from a hospital, where he is recovering from a single gunshot wound to the lower body.

Quebec’s provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec, said Nov. 18 that Weetaluktuk is in stable condition, but could not confirm if he remains in hospital.

Weetaluktuk has now been charged with uttering death threats, two counts of careless use of a firearm, pointing a firearm at an individual, possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose, and two counts of breaching probation.

A video taken of the incident and posted to social media shows Weetaluktuk standing on the front porch of a home Nov. 14, shouting, unintelligibly, and occasionally pointing his firearm.

It’s not clear if Weetaluktuk is pointing his gun directly at police officers, who are stationed in different locations outside the residence. A number of Inukjuammiut can be seen watching the stand-off from the road.

At one point after the suspect points his firearm, an officer shoots, hitting the 18-year-old in the lower body. The suspect stumbles down the stairs, until he drops to the ground, at which point at least two KRPF officers approach him.

As required, any time a civilian is injured or killed during a police altercation, an outside force is called in to investigate. A SQ spokesperson said the force has already sent investigators to the Hudson coast community.

Inukjuak, with a population of about 1,600, has seen a number of violent stand-offs between young men and police over the last year, most of them ending in the death of the suspect.

In July 2014, 29-year-old Jobie Napartuk was shot and killed by local police after he’s alleged to have threatened officers with a frying pan and knife.

In March 2015, a three-day stand-off with police ended when a 24-year-old man turned his weapon on himself, and died from those injuries.

The following month, an Inukjuak man turned up at the local KRPF detachment, where he’s alleged to have threatened officers with a weapon. He was shot and killed.

The recent violence underscores the call for more supports to help Inuit men deal with past traumas, seen with the emergence of men’s groups in communities in both Nunavik and Nunavut.

In that sense, Inukjuak is a pioneer: Since the mid-2000s, the community’s Unaaq men’s association has provided support and leadership opportunities to local men, particularly those between 15 and 35.

But because armed stand-offs can put community members at risk, Nunavik’s new police chief, Michel Martin, said he’s working to get KRPF officers access to high-powered rifles, so they’re in a better position to protect by-standers in hostile situations.