Nicholas Thorne-Belance death investigation wraps up
5-year-old Longueuil boy was killed in collision with undercover SQ vehicle
An independent investigation into the circumstances that led to five-year-old Nicholas Thorne-Belance's death in February 2014 has wrapped up.
Former Quebec Court of Appeal judge Pierre Dalphond filed his report to the Director of Criminal Prosecutions office on Friday after studying at length the collision between an undercover Sûreté du Québec police car and a car carrying Nicholas, his sister and his father.
The boy was on his way to school when the car he was in was hit by an SQ vehicle travelling at 122 kilometres an hour in a 50-kilometre zone.
The SQ officer in that car was tailing a suspect as part of anti-corruption investigation at the time.
Last fall Quebec's Director of Criminal prosecutions announced no charges would be laid.
The resulting public outrage prompted Justice Minister Stephanie Vallée to appoint Dalphond to review the case.
In a statement released Friday, the law firm where Dalphond now works said he finished his report and passed it along to Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
The Director's office issued a statement saying it has received the report and will study it closely to see if charges are warranted.
The office says Thorne-Belance's family will be notified as soon as a decision is made.
It also says Dalphond's recommendations will eventually be made public.
Prosecutors will now have to determine if Dalphond's report sheds any new light on the case that could lead to criminal charges.