BEI investigating 2 months after Inuit woman injured during police operation
Premier Philippe Couillard said he’s worried the BEI initially overlooked woman’s injuries because she's Inuit
In an about-face, Quebec's police watchdog is now investigating an incident that took place two months ago, when a police vehicle hit an Inuit woman in the northern part of the province.
The BEI said it initially received information that the 48-year-old woman suffered only a broken arm following the collision.
It now acknowledges her injuries were far more serious.
La Presse reported the extent of the woman's injuries. They included broken ribs, a lacerated liver and kidney, fractured vertebrates and a punctured lung.
CBC News has not independently verified this information.
The incident took place in Umiujaq, a community 1,200 kilometres north of Montreal.
She was transported to Montreal to receive health care, the BEI report states.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said he's worried the BEI initially disregarded the woman's injuries because she is Inuit, and that he wants to know more about the situation.
"The facts reported this morning are highly troubling," Couillard said Tuesday.
The BEI said the Kativik Regional Police Force, the law enforcement responsible for the region, responded to a call that a woman wielding knives had threatened to hurt people.
When police located her, she started running, the BEI news release reads.
The vehicle caught up with her and there was a collision.
The woman was taken to Montreal for treatment, where she is still recovering.
With files from Antoni Nerestant