Coroner announces inquest into ‘RCMP-involved’ shooting of Kinngait man
Attachie Ashoona died Feb. 26, 2020, in Kinngait; Inquest scheduled to begin next month
An inquest into the death of Attachie Ashoona, of Kinngait, is scheduled to take place in Kinngait from Feb. 5 to 9. (File photo)
Nunavut’s coroner has announced an inquest into a fatal “RCMP-involved” shooting of a man in Kinngait four years ago.
Ottawa Police Services announced in August 2020 that no charges would be laid in the death of Attachie Ashoona, who died Feb. 26, 2020.
The inquest will explore the circumstances surrounding Ashoona’s death and consider recommendations to prevent deaths under similar circumstances in the future, according to a news release from chief coroner Khen Sagadraca.
A coroner’s inquest does not have the power to recommend charges or to decide who is at fault.
The inquest is scheduled to be held Feb. 5 to Feb. 9 at Kinngait’s community hall. Coroner’s counsel Sheldon Toner will lead the inquest, which Sagadraca will preside over.
An inquest is mandatory when a person has died while detained or in custody.
Anyone who wants to participate or make a presentation at the inquest should contact the office at 867-975-6562, the release said.
So it is illegal for a Canadian citizens to defend themselves with a firearm so why is it legal for police to defend themselves with one?
Everyone should be treated the same under the laws of Canada no exceptions. EQUAKITY!
One country. one set of laws, everyone is equal, everyone has one vote. If anything police who receive special training and are granted special powers and authority should be held to higher standards than regular citizens.
It’s not specifically illegal to defend yourself with a firearm in Canada.
Canada’s self defense provisions were made MUCH more permissive in 2011.
While I see your point Hunter, the Criminal Code of Canada stipulates under Section 25 that a peace officer may use “force” when in the execution their duties. This distinction creates circumstances where police may be required to use lethal force. Obviously the police will have to articulate why they used the force they did, and they are also required to use the least amount of force possible, given the circumstances of any particular interaction. It is not an issue of different laws for different people, but rather a provision given to peace officers an account of the nature of their job.
When police officers break the law or their oaths or code of conduct, they too should be held accountable and face consequences. Police should be held to higher standards than regular citizens because they are granted special powers and authority and receive training.
Police should not be held to lessor standards than regular citizens.
Every time a citizen kills someone in self defense, , the Crown lays man slaughter charges, no questions asked and make the citizen defend themselves in a court of law, They make this standard for citizens, automatically lay charges
Now if police were held to higher standards than regular citizens, should they too be automatically charged with man slaughter if regular citizens automatically get charged doing the same thing?
“Ottawa Police Services announced in August 2020 that no charges would be laid in the death of Attachie Ashoona, who died Feb. 26, 2020.”
.
It’s interesting to see how no charges are ever laid following shooting deaths by the hands of the RCMP… it would suggest that the Nunavut RCMP are somehow always 100% correct in shooting someone.
.
That’s an impressive ratio, maybe they should be teaching the military how to avoid unnecessary casualties, given they are never blamed following any deaths.
Even though the police are extensively trained to avoid using their weapons except as a last resort, some people absolutely do everything possible to ensure they get shot.
The police have never ever seen anything wrong with people up here as they review themselves. When can we expect our lives to matter like all the other parts of the country and have independent civilian reviews of police shootings?
RCMP killings of Inuit civilians in Nunavut are becoming so common that it’s not even shocking anymore. Like always, Inuit lives are not seen as valuable because we are of the wrong color. If it was a non-Inuit, guaranteed, the Ottawa officials would come scrambling to determine why the civilian was killed. Meanwhile 4 years later, an in
Living in Iqaluit I can’t believe how often you’d be out driving and then you’d see abandoned police cars and swat teams going because some nut was barricaded in the home. This was happening like every other month for a long period of time. Police are shot at by Inuit, I remember seeing the bullet holes in the cop car. I have yet to live anywhere else where you’d experience this in a lifetime, especially in a small town that wouldn’t count for a suburb of most small towns in Canada.
.
People here complaining about the police never being found to be wrong. Guess what, between the Coroner (not a cop and advised by a third party lawyer usually) and third party police services (Non RCMP police forces don’t do favours for the RCMP lol) there has yet to be any malfeasance or charges levied. Is it because there is some big scam? Maybe, but maybe the way people treat the police in Nunavut leads to predictable outcomes when you combine alcohol and hunting rifles. I hate that people die, and Inuit men in particular, but there needs to be some accountability for Inuit and how culture is playing a role in this criminal behaviour.
Each time I review these inquest reports I am left with more questions. No body cam to record the events? Shoot first because protective gear was just left in the cop car? Why do Inuit get blamed all the time? The one independent recording we all saw of an Inuk man so drunk he was struggling to stay up and got rammed with a cop car and nothing wrong with it according to the police “investigation”. Why not start our own police force as they have been proven to be far more effective then the RCMP?
Good luck with that. Thousands of vacancies already for jobs in Nunavut where the worker won’t get shot at or puked on. Who exactly do you feel will staff this Nunavut-owned police force?