Inquests into Separate Police Killings of Indigenous Men Adrian Lacquette (23) and Evan Grant Caron (33) in Manitoba

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, two inquests were called into separate police killings of civilians in Manitoba which happened within a week and a half of each other in September 2017. The chief medical examiner in Manitoba has called an inquest into the police shooting and killing of 23-year-old Adrian Lacquette of Winnipeg on September 13. Manitoba Justice announced a separate inquest into the shootings and killings of 33-year-old Evan Grant Caron, who was fatally shot by police 10 days after the shooting of Adrian Lacquette.

Both victims were Indigenous men. This fact is reflective of the colonial and racist violence of policing in Manitoba (and Canada more broadly). At least 11 of the known 19 people killed by police in Manitoba between 2000 and 2017 were identified as Indigenous.

The inquests cannot assign blame or lead to arrests and police are under no obligation to follow any recommendations that might result from either inquest.

Killer Cop Frédéric Fortier Made Critical Mistakes in Killing of Brandon Maurice: Policing Expert

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officer who killed 17-year-old Brandon Maurice has been identified as Constable Frédéric Fortier during the coroner’s inquest into the 2015 killing. An expert in police “use of force” strategies testified at the inquest that the provincial police officer made a number of critical mistakes. A witness to the killing, Chris Houle, who was in the car with Maurice when the teenager was shot has already testified that the shooting “should have been avoided.”

Constable Frédéric Fortier shot the unarmed Maurice at the end of a police chase through Messines, Québec. He and his partner, Constable Dave Constantin, were cleared of criminal wrong doing after an investigation, that was in no way independent and involved Montreal police in 2016.

The inquest has focused on how Fortier approached the car Maurice was driving at the end of a police pursuit. He approached aggressively with his gun drawn and decided to smash the driver’s-side window to open the car door.

Bruno Poulin, an expert with Quebec’s police academy, so not oppositional to police in any way, testified that the encounter should never have ended with that decision. According to Poulin, the officer narrowed his options by approaching the car overly aggressively and expecting he could physically force the driver from the car. A typical thug approach by police who expect they can impose their authority without question and, if necessary, kill to deal with any mess they create.

In Poulin’s words to the inquest: “He put himself in danger” (quoted in 2018). Poulin said it appears that SQ officers need some retraining. We know that training does nothing to change the power police hold in society and the fact that they can kill with impunity as part of the state’s assertion of its monopoly on violence.

In testimony the previous day Fortier acknowledged that he had gotten himself into trouble but said he would not change his decision to shoot.

Brandon Maurice’s family are considering civil action against the police.

 

Further Reading

Pfeffer, Amanda. 2018. “Expert Witness at Coroner’s Inquest Says Officer Who Shot Teen Made Mistakes.” CBC News. April 13. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/brandon-maurice-death-inquest-1.4617234

BEI Investigating Death of Man During Police Drug Raid (Mar. 29, 2018)

The  Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in the province, is investigating the death of a man during a police drug raid in Laval, Quebec on March 29, 2018. The BEI reports that according to initial information, a 36-year-old man died after falling from a seventh floor apartment building during the raid. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The BEI is not independent of police and relies on officers from other forces for its investigations.

Witness to Police Killing of Brandon Maurice (17) Says it “Should Have Been Avoided”

Chris Houle, the person who directly witnessed the police shooting of 17-year-old Brandon Maurice told a coroner’s inquest that it should never have happened. Houle saw the entire interaction from the passenger seat of Maurice’s car. A Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Quebec provincial police, officer shot Maurice as the teen sat in the vehicle’s driver’s seat in the early morning hours of November 16, 2015. The Inquest started in April, 2018.

Said Houle, during his testimony before chief coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier on April 10: “I may not know a lot about law and police processes; I’m not an expert. But this should have been avoided” (quoted in Pfeffer 2018). The young witness testified over a day and a half.

The killing occurred after a police chase ended about 10 kilometers at chemin de la Ferme and rue Patry, close to Lac Blue Sea in the municipality of Messines, Quebec. Houle testified that he and Maurice sat in the car as an officer approached the driver’s side with his gun drawn. At some point the officer smashed the window and reached into the car. Some type of struggle ensued over the opening of the car door. The officer fired his gun at Maurice shooting the teenager at point-blank range.

Brandon Maurice died in hospital. The pathologist who carried out the autopsy testified at the inquest that Maurice died from a fatal bullet wound through this neck.

Family and friends of Maurice have long insisted that police used excessive force during the encounter and have demanded answers about what happened that day and why police acted the way they did. The officer responsible was not charged for the killing, a typical and in no way surprising outcome when police kill civilians in Canada. The state protects the state.

There is no investigation of police in Quebec that could in any way be considered independent or autonomous. Incredibly Montreal police were asked by Quebec’s police “watchdog,” Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), to conduct an investigation after the killiing. This is not independence. Not surprisingly that “investigation” decided not to charge the officer. In fact the Montreal investigators were allowed to testify at the inquest.

 

Further Reading

Pfeffer, Amanda. 2018. “Police Shooting Witness Tells Inquest Teen’s Death “Should Have Been Avoided.” CBC News. April 10. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/brandon-maurice-inquest-tuesday-1.4613032

Plainclothes Calgary Police Officer Shoots and Kills Man (April 9, 2018)

An on-duty plainclothes officer of the Calgary Police Sevice shot and killed a man, said to be in his late-twenties, in the Bridgeland neighborhood late in the evening of April 9, 2018. Initial reports say the killer cop was on his break when he encountered the victim near the intersection of 2 Avenue and 6 Street Northeast in the city’s northeast at around 11:30 PM. During the encounter the officer discharged his firearm striking and killing the man. The victim was declared dead at the scene. The shooting took place near a playground.

The killer cop is said to be an 11-year veteran of the Calgary Police service. He has been placed on 30-day administrative leave.

Tellingly, Lee Kaminski, president of the Calgary Police Association, has  commended the killer cop, who remains unnamed publicly.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which examines cases of police harm to civilians in the province, is investigating the killing.

Fatality Inquiry into Killing of Annie Walden (84) by Constable Chris Luimes Makes Recommendations

On March 8, 2012, killer cop Constable Chris Luimes crashed into a car driven by 84-year-old Annie Waldren while speeding to a non-emergency call, killing the Edmonton woman. Luimes was driving at almost 120 kilometers per hour at the time of the collision.

On April 9, 2018, a fatality inquiry into the killing, under provincial court judge Carrie Sharpe, released its recommendations. They call for longer probation periods for new police officers in Alberta. The inquiry suggests that police agencies should institute a probationary period of three months, six months, and one year to evaluate the driving habits of new recruits on an ongoing basis. It also called for removal of any officer where performance or safety concerns are identified by supervisors.

After the killing, Luimes was charged with dangerous driving causing death but a judge decided there was not enough evidence to convict him. The state protects the state in such cases. At a disciplinary hearing Luimes was found guilty of discreditable conduct in the crash. Edmonton police Superintendent Brad Doucette and the investigating officer for the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) were the only witnesses to testify at the inquiry on March 14, 2017. As a result an inquiry scheduled for two days was completed in fewer than three hours.

Killer cop Luimes is still employed by the Edmonton Police Service but longer works on the streets. The state protects the state and killer cops maintain their employment.

SIU Investigates Death of Man During Police Call in Thunder Bay (April 2, 2018)

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in Ontario is investigating the death of a 62-year-old man in Thunder Bay, Ontario during a police call in the morning of April 2, 2018. According to the SIU, police were called to a dispute at an apartment building shortly after 7:30 AM. Some time thereafter a man was found on the ground below a third floor apartment. The man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead in hospital. The SIU has assigned two investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case.

Victim of Hamilton Police Shooting as Quinn MacDougall (19) (April 3, 2018)

The young man shot and killed by Hamilton police on April 3, 2018, has been identified as 19-year-old Quinn MacDougall. According to a witness, who lives in the neighborhood where the killing occurred, someone called 911 asking for help but when police arrived the victim was chased by officers. The witness says that they saw police attempt to deploy a taser and when that failed they shot the victim three times, including in the face. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has since confirmed the victim’s age as 19. Few other details have been released publicly.

The killing occurred near a townhouse complex on the west side of Hamilton Mountain at around 3:30 PM. Two officers are reported to have fired their weapons, striking and killing the young man.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has assigned five investigators and three forensics specialists to examine the killing. The SIU has identified four witness officers.

The victim was reported to be from the area where police killed him. The witness also reports that the shooting occurred in full view of children who were outside playing hockey at the time.

Hamilton Police Shoot and Kill Man (April 3, 2018)

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that examines cases of police violence in Ontario, is investigating the shooting and killing of a man by Hamilton police on the West Mountain on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 3, 2018. It is reported that officers responded to a call at a townhouse complex on Caledon Avenue. The victim was transported to hospital but has been pronounced dead. At least two witnesses have reported that the man was shot. This is an initial report and other details have not been released publicly.

Killer Cop BC RCMP Jason Tait Charged with Manslaughter for Shooting Waylon Edey in 2015

On Tuesday, April 3, 2018 a charge of manslaughter was sworn against British Columbia killer cop RCMP Constable Jason Tait for shooting and killing Waylon Edey on January 29, 2015 near Castlegar. Edey was  a father of four from Yahk. The charge is a rare decision against a killer cop in Canada.

The charge comes more than a year after the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) completed its investigation, according to a statement from the BC Prosecution Service. The IIO report was submitted in December of 2016. Said the statement: “The investigation and charge assessment process were protracted due, in part, to the complexities of the evidentiary issues in the case and the requirement for further investigation and analysis.”

Constable Tait was a member of an RCMP traffic unit at the time of the shooting near Castlegar. He shot and killed Waylon Edey during a traffic stop.

Waylon Edey’s mother, Deborah Edey, has filed a lawsuit against British Columbia’s Minister of Public Safety and Canada’s Attorney General as well as the RCMP officer who shot Edey. She is suing on behalf of her grandchildren, who range in age from 22 to 14. The suit claims that Waylon Edey was unarmed at the time he was shot and that the use of deadly force was unwarranted.

Killer cop Jason Tait is scheduled to make his first appearance in provincial court in British Columbia on April 30, 2018.