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On Sunday I will be attending the vigil for Nicholas Gibbs, a young black man who was shot in the back and killed by Montréal Police just two blocks away from my home in NDG.
Racism and police brutality are alive and well in Montréal and it is our responsibility as residents of all backgrounds to take a stand against what is happening in our communities.
The video of what happened looks more like an execution than a police operation. Nicholas Gibbs deserves justice. Let’s show our support by attending this event in large numbers.
More Info On Global News:
Protesters gather in memory of Nicholas Gibbs, shot dead by Montreal police
Alex Tyrrell Had Previously Made The Following Statement:
October 30, 2018
The Green Party of Quebec strongly condemns the actions of the three SPVM officers in their intervention that took the life of Nicholas Gibbs in the Montreal neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-De-Grâce.
The video released today shows that the SPVM officers are clearly not adequately trained.
During the intervention, the officers all shout at the same time and are visibly in panic; furthermore, although the individual at the centre of the intervention speaks only in English, they all speak to him in French. The three of them are unable to control a single individual in a state of crisis. Instead of intervening reasonably, using a de-escalation method, they shot Nicholas Gibbs five times in a chaotic, panicky fashion before hitting him with a bullet in the back as Gibbs walked away from the officers.
The GPQ calls for the immediate suspension of all officers involved in the incident and believes that the events captured on the video are sufficient to lay criminal charges against the officer in charge. In addition, the Director of the Independent Bureau of Investigation (IBI) alleges that the SPVM failed to comply with the law by interfering with the crime scene and witnesses before IBI investigators arrived at the scene. Such interference and concealment practices are common within the SPVM. We call for the lack of transparency to be condemned and rectified.
For all these reasons, the Green Party of Quebec reiterates its desire to reform the police in two ways:
1. By disarming patrol officers, to avoid police misconduct, improve police relations with their communities. Disarmament would be gradual and would concern only patrol officers. This proposition has already proved its worth in Great Britain, Norway and New Zealand, where the crime rate remains low.
2. Incorporating into police training a six-month to one-year training or internship in a psycho-social intervention, in order to be better equipped to deal with crisis situations involving people in vulnerable situations.
