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Police in Nunavik involved in 73 times more fatal shootings than provincial average
Police in Nunavik involved in 73 times more fatal shootings than provincial average

CBC

time2 days ago

  • CBC

Police in Nunavik involved in 73 times more fatal shootings than provincial average

The rate of fatal shootings by police officers in Nunavik is roughly 73 times higher than the Quebec average, according to numbers from the provincial police watchdog. CBC looked at data from the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), which starts from 2017. The BEI investigates any injuries or deaths of a person other than a police officer during a police intervention. The organization has recorded six fatal police shootings in Nunavik, which has a population of under 15,000, compared to 51 across the province of roughly nine million. The most recent shooting by police in the province was in Inukjuak earlier this month. It prompted calls for reform across the region including from the families of two other men who were fatally shot by police. The number of people fatally shot by police in Nunavik is also higher than in the territories of Yukon and N.W.T., which both have larger populations than Nunavik. Since 2017, Yukon had one "police-involved shooting fatality", and the N.W.T. had none, according to their Coroner's offices. Nunavut's Coroner's office hasn't responded to CBC's requests. Temitope Oriola, a criminology professor at the University of Alberta, said there is a tendency across the country of police officers deploying lethal force over de-escalation techniques, but the situation in Nunavik appears to be extraordinary. "There's something fundamentally broken there, with all due respect," he said, adding that lethal force is allowed, but it depends on the necessity of deployment. But there are also troubling figures police face in Nunavik. In 2024, crime rates in the region were roughly 15 times higher than the rest of the province, according to Statistics Canada. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction 2021 report also details the heavy struggles Nunavimmiut face with substance use and suicide rates. That's all compounded by intergenerational trauma and a lack of housing. People can become officers in Nunavik with a diploma from the École nationale de police du Québec, or, like others in the country, they can complete the cadet program at the RCMP depot division in Regina, which takes half a year. There lies the problem for Oriola. "I know people who joined the police because they have a heart of service. They wish to serve, they want to be their utmost best for all their community. But are we giving them a chance of doing this with only six months [of] training," he said. Training timeline 'fundamentally insufficient' Oriola said much of the training at the RCMP depot is focused on target practice and defensive driving. That is all and well, he said, but the six months timeframe for training leaves little room for the social, human side to policing. "It flies against the face of what many of our peer jurisdictions in the world are doing, countries such as Finland, Norway and Germany … where individuals with recruiters spend anything from two to four years being given various forms of education. Things like human rights, police and citizen encounters, psychology, and mental health issues," he said. "That timeline is fundamentally insufficient for 21st century policing. We are in an environment where police officers are being called to deal with issues that quite frankly have little to do with policing." He also wants to see more de-escalation techniques, a sentiment echoed by Patrick Watson. The assistant professor of criminology at the University of Toronto points to examples of that proving successful, like in the case of a Toronto Police Service officer who successfully apprehended a suspect in a deadly van attack in 2018. However, he said he often hears new recruits being dismissive of de-escalation techniques. He also believes that depot often prioritizes training on "high-end" policing — such as SWAT teams — over community-based policing. "The police service that employs the officer … should be doing some additional training to get their new recruits… prepared to serve a community. So there is an element of co-responsibility here. But through multiple reports, depot has been singled out, and those are items that I think the government of Canada really needs to focus on," he said. RCMP Depot division said all cadets, including from the Nunavik Police Service (NPS), get the same initial standardized training. It did not respond to further questions about its training curriculum. ENPQ said it cannot provide a response until late in August. ENPQ does offer other training sessions dedicated to de-escalation that NPS offers to its recruits. NPS officers also undergo 12 hours of Inuit cultural training online prior to arrival in Nunavik, and a spokesperson said it's working on a third form of training that will consist of a more hands-on approach to Inuit culture. 'A shield protects everyone' Watson said time and space are crucial determinants in a police officer's response to a person bearing a weapon. Tasers and pepper spray can be useful deterrents, but only at close range. There are several studies — often taught in police academies — that tell officers to draw their firearms when confronted by a subject with a knife. One of them is the "21-foot rule," or Tueller Drill, developed by Salt Lake City Police Department Sgt. Dennis Tueller. "He found that an average police officer takes about 1.5 seconds to draw, aim and fire their gun from their belt to a subject. Whereas somebody running at full speed, an average person running at full speed can cover about 21 feet," Watson said. Watson notes that science has been challenged, and there are calls for de-escalation first. However, what Watson would like to see implemented is the use of lightweight shields. They are a fixture among some police services in Europe, and was a recommendation from a coroner's inquest in Toronto in 2017. "Firearms, Tasers, or pepper spray – all three of those things are going to harm an individual. A shield protects everyone. It protects the police officer, and it protects the person who is presumably in crisis," he said.

HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY
HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY

Al Jazeera

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • Al Jazeera

HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY

Al Jazeera's I-Unit has obtained covertly recorded phone calls that reveal how the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, ordered the use of lethal force to crack down on student protesters during the July Uprising in 2024. The investigative programme, 'HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY, takes viewers inside the former prime minister's inner circle during the final days of her rule. During the three bloody weeks of demonstrations fifteen hundred people were killed, over twenty-five thousand were injured, and more than three million rounds of ammunition were fired by Sheikh Hasina's security forces. The calls made by Sheikh Hasina were recorded by her own spy agency, a ruthless network that helped her rule Bangladesh with an iron grip. The Al Jazeera investigation exposes how the spies who used to protect her recorded evidence of a regime now charged with committing 'systemic atrocities.' In one recording on 18 July 2024, Sheikh Hasina tells the former mayor of Dhaka South, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh: 'my instructions have already been given. I've issued an open order completely. Now they will use lethal weapons, shoot wherever they find them .....That has been instructed, I have stopped them so far….I was thinking about the students' safety.' Recordings also reveals her use of helicopters to suppress the protests from the air:'….wherever they notice any gathering it's from above—now it's being done from above—it has already started in several places. It has begun. Some have moved.' In the film, a doctor validates the claims that many protestors were killed and wounded by gunfire from helicopters. The programme further reveals how the Awami League government used threats and bribes to cover up the police killing of student Abu Sayed; his death provoked national outrage. Secret calls reveal how Sheikh Hasina's most powerful ally, Salman F Rahman, tried to obtain Sayed's post-mortem report. We reveal how it was changed five times to erase any mention of guns, and how his family, fearing for their lives, were made to meet Sheikh Hasina on state television. The programme further reveals how the Awami League government resorted to threats and bribes in an attempt to conceal the police killing of student Abu Sayed, whose death provoked national outrage. Secret recordings show that Sheikh Hasina's most influential ally, Salman F Rahman, sought to obtain Sayed's post-mortem report, how it was altered five times to remove any reference to the use of firearms in his death, and how Sayed's family were compelled to meet Sheikh Hasina on state television out of fear for their safety. Leaked confidential documents accessed by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit exposes the dirty tricks used by Hasina's government to shut down the internet and stop the bloody images of the violence from reaching the world. In a statement to Al Jazeera, an Awami League spokesperson said Sheikh Hasina has never used the phrase, 'lethal weapons', and did not specifically authorise or direct the security forces to use lethal force. It disputes the authenticity of the 18 July 2024 recording. It also said it was sorry if the family of Abu Sayed felt intimidated but the former government's resolve to investigate potential misconduct, including by security forces, was genuine. It stated that Sheikh Hasina believed the internet was shut down by damage caused by protestors. 'HASINA – 36 DAYS IN JULY' will be aired on Al Jazeera English on 24 July 2025 at 12:00 GMT, and will also be available on YouTube at the following link.

Fatally shooting 16-year-old driver was reasonable, B.C. police watchdog rules
Fatally shooting 16-year-old driver was reasonable, B.C. police watchdog rules

CTV News

time14-07-2025

  • CTV News

Fatally shooting 16-year-old driver was reasonable, B.C. police watchdog rules

Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. An RCMP officer who shot and killed a 16-year-old pickup driver in Creston did not commit an offence when using lethal force, B.C.'s police watchdog has ruled. The Independent Investigations Office released its public report on the Dec. 14, 2022, incident last week, shedding light on the events that lead to the teenager's death. The interaction began at 4:23 a.m., when one officer noticed a pickup truck running stop signs and driving erratically, according to the IIO. After the truck sped past a second officer and blew through another stop sign, police made a plan to pursue it. Two officers followed tracks in the snow along the highway and then onto a residential street, where they found the truck, which was reportedly stolen several hours prior. When he saw the officers, the teenager, referred to as the 'affected person' or AP, turned into a driveway in front of them. The officer who fired the shots, referred to as the 'subject officer' or SO, followed. The other Mountie's vehicle captured the incident on video. 'As the SO stepped out of the driver's door of his police vehicle and stood next to (it), the AP's pickup truck accelerated and drove towards the SO, scraping along the driver's side of the SO's police vehicle and nearly running over the SO, who had drawn his gun,' the report reads. 'The SO moved backwards along the side of his vehicle to avoid being hit. As the SO did this, he fired his gun towards the driver's area of the AP's pickup truck which continued forward and then collided with WO2's vehicle.' Forensic analysis determined the Mountie fired eight shots in rapid succession, and the final shot went through the driver's window and hit AP as he drove by. The SO then said over radio, 'Shots by police. Shots by police. Suspect vehicle, black Chev pickup. Tried to run me over,' according to the report. The pickup truck drove off, and police found it crashed in a ditch two kilometres away at 4:47 a.m. The IIO said it found 'information to suggest' that a passenger who was in the truck took over driving after AP was shot, but the individual did not respond to investigators' interview requests. Officers removed the now-unconscious AP from the vehicle and performed life-saving measures, which were continued by paramedics for about 45 minutes, the report says. The teenager was declared deceased at 5:45 a.m. An autopsy found he died of a single gunshot wound to the torso. In cases of lethal force, the IIO's chief civilian director is tasked with determining whether an officer's actions were lawful, based on the threat posed by the 'affected person' and 'whether, in the words of the Criminal Code, it gave reasonable grounds for the officers to believe lethal force was 'necessary for the self-preservation of (the officer) or the preservation of anyone under (the officer's) protection from death of grievous bodily harm,'' according to the agency. In the report, chief civilian director Jessica Berglund said based on the video and evidence from the witness officer, it was 'objectively reasonable' for the SO to believe the AP's driving posed a threat of death or grievous harm. 'Based on reaction times and the physiological processes involved in firing a weapon, it was reasonable for the SO to continue firing the gun until he reasonably believed he was out of danger,' she wrote. 'It was reasonable for the SO to believe that AP's driving posed a risk to his life as the pickup truck drove towards him. The SO fired his gun to prevent the pickup from continuing its path and stopped firing believed he was out of danger.' She said the AP's intent when he drove toward the police cars – and the only exit from the dead-end driveway – is unknown, but regardless of intention it was 'objectively reasonable' for the officer to believe he was in serious danger. 'Given these considerations, it cannot be said that the SO's decision to shoot the AP was unreasonable in the circumstances,' Berglund wrote. 'Accordingly, as the chief civilian director of the IIO, I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and therefore the matter will not be referred to Crown Counsel for consideration of charges.'

B.C. police officer who fatally shot 16-year-old driver cleared of wrongdoing
B.C. police officer who fatally shot 16-year-old driver cleared of wrongdoing

CTV News

time14-07-2025

  • CTV News

B.C. police officer who fatally shot 16-year-old driver cleared of wrongdoing

Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. An RCMP officer who shot and killed a 16-year-old pickup driver in Creston did not commit an offence when using lethal force, B.C.'s police watchdog has ruled. The Independent Investigations Office released its public report on the Dec. 14, 2022, incident last week, shedding light on the events that lead to the teenager's death. The interaction began at 4:23 a.m., when one officer noticed a pickup truck running stop signs and driving erratically, according to the IIO. After the truck sped past a second officer and blew through another stop sign, police made a plan to pursue it. Two officers followed tracks in the snow along the highway and then onto a residential street, where they found the truck, which was reportedly stolen several hours prior. When he saw the officers, the teenager, referred to as the 'affected person' or AP, turned into a driveway in front of them. The officer who fired the shots, referred to as the 'subject officer' or SO, followed. The other Mountie's vehicle captured the incident on video. 'As the SO stepped out of the driver's door of his police vehicle and stood next to (it), the AP's pickup truck accelerated and drove towards the SO, scraping along the driver's side of the SO's police vehicle and nearly running over the SO, who had drawn his gun,' the report reads. 'The SO moved backwards along the side of his vehicle to avoid being hit. As the SO did this, he fired his gun towards the driver's area of the AP's pickup truck which continued forward and then collided with WO2's vehicle.' Forensic analysis determined the Mountie fired eight shots in rapid succession, and the final shot went through the driver's window and hit AP as he drove by. The SO then said over radio, 'Shots by police. Shots by police. Suspect vehicle, black Chev pickup. Tried to run me over,' according to the report. The pickup truck drove off, and police found it crashed in a ditch two kilometres away at 4:47 a.m. The IIO said it found 'information to suggest' that a passenger who was in the truck took over driving after AP was shot, but the individual did not respond to investigators' interview requests. Officers removed the now-unconscious AP from the vehicle and performed life-saving measures, which were continued by paramedics for about 45 minutes, the report says. The teenager was declared deceased at 5:45 a.m. An autopsy found he died of a single gunshot wound to the torso. In cases of lethal force, the IIO's chief civilian director is tasked with determining whether an officer's actions were lawful, based on the threat posed by the 'affected person' and 'whether, in the words of the Criminal Code, it gave reasonable grounds for the officers to believe lethal force was 'necessary for the self-preservation of (the officer) or the preservation of anyone under (the officer's) protection from death of grievous bodily harm,'' according to the agency. In the report, chief civilian director Jessica Berglund said based on the video and evidence from the witness officer, it was 'objectively reasonable' for the SO to believe the AP's driving posed a threat of death or grievous harm. 'Based on reaction times and the physiological processes involved in firing a weapon, it was reasonable for the SO to continue firing the gun until he reasonably believed he was out of danger,' she wrote. 'It was reasonable for the SO to believe that AP's driving posed a risk to his life as the pickup truck drove towards him. The SO fired his gun to prevent the pickup from continuing its path and stopped firing believed he was out of danger.' She said the AP's intent when he drove toward the police cars – and the only exit from the dead-end driveway – is unknown, but regardless of intention it was 'objectively reasonable' for the officer to believe he was in serious danger. 'Given these considerations, it cannot be said that the SO's decision to shoot the AP was unreasonable in the circumstances,' Berglund wrote. 'Accordingly, as the chief civilian director of the IIO, I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and therefore the matter will not be referred to Crown Counsel for consideration of charges.'

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