The head of Quebec’s police watchdog said investigators recovered only one firearm from the scene where a police officer shot and killed a 15-year-old on Sunday — the officer’s service weapon.
At a rare media conference on Tuesday morning, Brigitte Bishop, the head of the police watchdog agency known as the BEI, insisted her bureau will investigate the shooting death of Nooran Rezay impartially and asked the public to co-operate with investigators.
“I can assure you that our bureau is independent,” she said. “We are impartial and our mission is to cast light on the events. To do that we need the most rigorous evidence so we don’t want people to meet [each other and discuss] or alter evidence. So if people saw anything, I repeat, communicate with the BEI.”
Though Bishop declined to answer most questions about the evidence so far gathered by investigators, providing few new details to the events that led to the teenager’s death, she did say investigators had recovered ski masks, a baseball bat and a backpack at the scene.
In a rare news conference, the head of Quebec’s police watchdog said the only gun recovered from the scene was one belonging to police. Brigitte Bishop insisted the agency would fairly investigate the death of 15-year-old Nooran Rezay and asked the public to co-operate with investigators.
But she also said officers recovered only one gun and it was the one used by an officer to shoot Nooran. Her comments suggested there was no other gun present at the scene. She did not say who was in possession of the baseball bat.
Bishop’s Tuesday update was an unusual step by the BEI, which normally releases minimal preliminary information when launching an investigation and remains tightlipped until its work is complete.
Police officer on leave
On Tuesday, Longueuil police sent a statement confirming that the ”police officer involved in the incident” is on sick leave for an indefinite period. The police service (SPAL) then sent an updated statement clarifying the officer is simply on leave.
”His status will be reassessed at the end of this absence, if necessary, based on the elements of the investigation communicated to us by the BEI,” the statement reads.
Preliminary information provided by the BEI on Monday indicated that officers in the South Shore city of Longueuil responded to a 911 call reporting armed individuals moving through a public place. On Tuesday, Bishop said the initial information given to police indicated the individuals wore masks.
Officers arrived to the corner of Joseph-Daigneault and Monaco streets just before 3 p.m., and, according to an eyewitness, shouted “stop” twice to a group of teens.
Then, an officer fired two bullets, according to the eyewitness, Johnny Inthisone.
He said the shooting happened “in two seconds, not even,” and that the officer shot the 15-year-old “far too quickly,” barely interacting with him at all before firing two bullets.
Longueuil police chief Patrick Bélanger sent out a statement Tuesday saying police are co-operating with BEI investigators, but he can only share a limited amount of information about the situation.
“The entire Longueuil community, including SPAL personnel, has been going through a very difficult time since Sunday,” he wrote.
“We understand the deep sadness felt by the family, friends and all those who knew this young man. We sincerely share in their grief.”
Family’s lawyer says shooting raises questions
Lawyer Fernando Belton is representing the victim’s family, and he told CBC News on Tuesday that the shooting raises a lot of questions, in particular why the officer involved felt the need to use lethal force on Nooran, who was not armed.
“At this point, the family is considering all options and focused on burying the child,” Belton said.
Quebec’s police watchdog, the BEI, is investigating after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by Longueuil police on Sunday.
Belton, who has worked on cases where the BEI was involved, said the family was pleased to see its director giving an update Tuesday morning.
“I think it’s BEI’s obligation and responsibility to keep the family informed as well as the population,” he said. “I think the population has a right to know.”
Speaking with reporters on Monday, the teen’s family and friends described him as a kind, gentle boy who wasn’t violent and had only been carrying a school bag containing books when he was shot.
Nooran attended André-Laurendeau high school, located about two kilometres from the scene of the shooting.
“We need justice,” Nooran’s father, Sharif Rezay, told reporters on Monday.
The BEI investigates incidents where people are injured or killed during police interventions.
The watchdog initially assigned five investigators to the case. On Tuesday, Bishop said that total has been bumped up to 15. Montreal police are also assisting the investigation, Bishop said, having provided a drone and other forms of investigative assistance.
Bishop said investigators have spoken with numerous witnesses and have gathered seven videos of the incident which are currently being analyzed by forensics teams.
