Quebec’s Domestic Security Ministry will launch an administrative investigation into the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi by Longueuil police last September that will look at whether police obeyed the law after the shooting.
The announcement comes a little more than six months after Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier publicly called on the province to open an investigation into the city’s police service after letters sent by the head of the provincial agency investigating the killing to Longueuil’s police chief alleged police failed to adhere to the laws and regulations that apply after an officer shoots a civilian.
“We must get to the bottom of things and shed full light on these events,” Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière said in a post on his Facebook page. “I am first and foremost the MNA for Vachon. These tragic events occurred here in our community, in St-Hubert. I reiterate my deepest sympathies to the family, loved ones and the entire community.”
The incident occurred Sept. 21 and was examined by Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, which is called in whenever someone dies during a police operation in Quebec.
In November, Brigitte Bishop, the director of the BEI, wrote a letter to Longueuil police chief Patrick Bélanger stating that his officers had not followed their legal obligation to notify the BEI immediately after a civilian is killed and instead waited more than an hour and a half. Bishop also told Bélanger that the BEI had learned officers had questioned witnesses who saw the shooting before the BEI arrived, a violation of provincial regulations.
“Public confidence in institutions requires clear, complete and transparent answers,” Fournier said in a statement Monday, adding that she has spoken to Lafrenière and that he has confirmed that the investigation will look at the issues she raised in December, including whether Longueuil police respected their legal and regulatory obligations, the role of police leadership “as well as the causes, circumstances and consequences of the alleged failures.”
Nooran, who was born in Quebec to a family originally from Afghanistan, was killed in the borough of St-Hubert when Longueuil police officers responded to a 911 call reporting a “group of armed people” in a residential area. He was shot seconds after police arrived on the scene.
The BEI later confirmed Nooran and the friends he was with were not armed.
The BEI submitted its report to the prosecutors’ office to determine whether criminal charges should be filed in connection with the incident in March and a parallel investigation by Montreal police into the shooting is ongoing.
Lafrenière said the investigator appointed by the province, Michel Bouchard, will have up to six months to examine the steps taken by Longueuil police that led to the BEI investigation and will be able make recommendations for improving the process.