Lac-Simon police officer fatally shoots man
Algonquin community still reeling from the shooting death of a police officer in February
A police investigation in the Algonquin community of Lac-Simon in Abitibi-Témiscamingue has been handed over to the the Montreal police department after a man was fatally shot Wednesday evening by a member of the local aboriginal police force.
On Thursday, a Montreal police spokesman told CBC investigators were heading to the town, which is about 500 kilometres northwest of Montreal, to take over the investigation.
At first, the Sûreté du Québec had sent a dozen officers to lend a hand to the local force. The SQ asked members of the press to stay away from the village while they investigate.
Under Quebec law, any incident involving a police officer in which a firearm is discharged must be investigated by a different police force.
Tensions between police and the community have been high since Feb. 13, when a white police officer working with the local force, Thierry Leroux, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute call.
The member of the community who shot Leroux then committed suicide.
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Corrections
- An earlier version of this story said the man was shot by an aboriginal police officer. In fact, the man was shot by a member of the local aboriginal police force.Apr 07, 2016 8:01 AM ET