1 person dead, another seriously injured after altercation with Nunavik police

Map of three Inuit communities in Nunavik, northern Quebec. (CBC Graphics)

By Samuel Wat, RCI, CBC News

Video posted on social media shows man being shot at close range

One person is dead and another seriously injured after an altercation with Nunavik police in Salluit, Que.

Videos posted on social media show a man being shot at close range by what appears to be a police officer.

Quebec’s police watchdog, Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), said the incident happened overnight. They confirmed an officer had fired his weapon, resulting in the death of one person and seriously injuring another.

“The BEI investigates all cases where a person, other than a police officer on duty, dies, suffers a serious injury or is injured by a firearm used by a police officer during a police intervention or while being detained by a police force,” it said in a written statement in French.

Five BEI investigators are part of the investigation.

The provincial police service, the Sûreté du Québec, is being brought in for support.

They are also running a parallel investigation.

The BEI has asked anybody who witnessed the event to contact them through their website.

This is the second investigation of police conduct in Salluit this year.

In July, a video circulated online of a woman being dragged by Nunavik police officers, while witnesses yelled that she was having a seizure.

Data from Quebec’s chief coroner’s office between 2000 and 2018 found Nunavik had more police-related deaths than any of Canada’s three territories, despite having a population about one-third of each territory.

The Nunavik Police Service rolled out body cameras on officers in 2020 in all 14 communities in the region.

They are not commenting on this incident while the BEI investigation is underway.