Three KRPF officers honoured for courageous response to March 2013 shootout

In a May 12 ceremony at the l’École nationale de police du Québec in Nicolet, three Kativik Regional Police Force officers were awarded bravery medals for the courage they showed during a deadly Kuujjuaq shootout last year. Sergeant Christopher Nagle is pictured in the bottom row, far left; Special Constable Lundie is bottom row, third from right, while Special Constable Boreland is not pictured. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SPVM)

Two special constables and a sergeant of the Kativik Regional Police Force have been honoured by the government of Quebec for the “exceptional courage” they showed during a deadly Kuujjuaq shootout last year that killed a fellow constable.

Const. Steve Déry, 27, died in March 2013 after he and partner Joshua Boreland were shot at when they responded to a call involving domestic violence at a Kuujjuaq home.

Three members of the KRPF who responded to the call that day — Special Constables Boreland and Mark Lundie, along with Sergeant Christopher Nagle — were awarded Quebec’s Cross of Bravery May 12 for helping to ensure the safety of emergency responders and citizens when they were exposed to gunfire.

“Under extremely difficult conditions, these three men have demonstrated exceptional courage and resilience,” said Quebec’s public safety minister, Lise Thériault, in a May 12 release. “I know beyond a doubt that they have done everything possible to save their colleague.”

On March 2, 2013, moments after getting out of their vehicle to respond to the domestic violence call, Déry and Boreland encountered a man emerging from a house on Chopper Crescent, who began firing at them.

As the constables sought shelter, both were hit by gunfire; Déry twice.

In the moments that followed, police said Boreland continued to protect both his fellow officers and nearby citizens while the shooter barricaded himself in the Chopper Crescent home.

Special constable Mark Lundie and Sgt. Christopher Nagle then arrived as reinforcements, when another shootout ensued.

The police officers protected a paramedic and a nurse who arrived on the scene to provide First Aid to Déry and Boreland, who were then transported to Tulattavik Hospital, where Déry was later pronounced dead.

Nagle and Lundie remained on the scene to monitor the residence through the night, while they awaited back-up from the Sûreté du Québec provincial police.

At one point, Nagle came to the aid of a local person who arrived and tried to enter the home to reason with the shooter.

During the stand-off, a woman managed to run out of the house to safety, uninjured.

Boreland suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but no other police or citizens were injured in the incident.

The armed standoff ended after 17 hours, on March 3, after a flare was fired the home where the armed man had barricaded himself.

That’s when members of the SQ’s special tactical squad entered the house and found the body of young Kuujjuaq man, who appeared to have died by suicide.

To honour Déry’s service and sacrifice, his Ottawa family was awarded Quebec’s Medal of Dedication in 2013.

Since 1972, Quebec has awarded 110 Crosses of Bravery and 22 Medals of Dedication to police officers across the province.