Nunavik cop slaughters caribou with shotgun

MONTREAL — A constable with the Kativik Regional Police Force in Puvirnituq has been fired after he was caught in the act killing caribou out of season.

The constable was firing rounds with a 12-gauge shotgun into a herd of caribou. The weapon is the property of the KRPF,

On Aug. 4, immediately following his return from a visit to Montreal, Lt. Al Patterson fired Marc Lambert because the constable for breaking several hunting regulations, as well as the force’s own internal rules regarding the use of firearms.

“I don’t have a lot to say about it,” said Patterson. “It’s an incident that never should have happened. It’s a stupid act.”

The hunting regulations Lambert violated include hunting without a license, hunting caribou out of season, and discharging a firearm within 400 metres of a public road.

According to police, the community’s mayor, Aisara Kenuajuak, had surprised Lambert on July 28 just as the poice officer was shooting into a herd of caribou not far from the airport. Kenuajuak seized one of the unused rounds as evidence.

One caribou was dead. Later, 12 other dead caribou were found nearby.

Lambert, who had completed ten weeks of a four-month contract with the KRPF in Puvirnituq was due to leave the community on Friday.

He may likely face fines if convicted of charges laid in relation to the caribou shooting incident.

“We don’t want to lose respect within the community,” Patterson said.

Of the eight full-time KRPF constables under Patterson in Puvirnituq, Akulivik and Ivujivik, only one is a permanent member of Nunavik’s police force.

While Inuit train to fill positions in what is supposed to be a wholly Inuit force, non-Inuit can’t be hired for permanent police jobs.

Temporary recruits from the South often bave police training, but may lack hands-on experience as police officers or familiarity with Nunavik.

But KRPF police chief Brian Jones said that every new cop is told about the rules and regulations of the community and the force.

“But if we had more local guys, we wouldn’t need these ones from the South,” Jones said.

Police in Puvirnituq have been particularly busy this summer, with six offenders sent to the South for detention during the month of July.

“You have to have police officers in the communities,” Jones said.