Officer who shot Chantel Moore back from leave, only performing desk work

The unnamed officer who shot and killed Chantel Moore while performing a wellness check is back from paid leave but is only performing administrative tasks, the Edmundston Police Force confirmed Thursday.

"The officer is currently on administrative duties until we receive the results of the BEIQ independent investigation," said spokesperson Mychèle Poitras.

"Since the investigation is ongoing, no further comments will be made."

Poitras said "administrative duties" mean the officer is doing only "desk work." 

The officer started the desk work on Monday.

He had been put on paid leave after he shot the First Nations woman when he was dispatched to her home in Edmundston. Moore's death has prompted calls for an independent non-police investigation into her death as well as an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system.

Moore, 26, grew up on Vancouver Island, but had recently moved to New Brunswick to be with her mother and young daughter Gracie.

The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation hereditary and elected leadership have called for the officer to face a criminal charge. The Edmundston Police Force said the officer shot in self-defence as Moore had a knife and attacked the officer.

The Quebec independent police agency, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, is investigating the shooting, and won't have a report for possibly months.

New Brunswick Police Association executive director Bob Davidson said assigning officers to "indoor activities" after a similar situation is "normal procedure."

"Naturally everything has to be driven by facts of what happened, and when the facts are known, you know, things can be looked at and analyzed," he said.

The New Brunswick Police Association represents all municipal police forces in New Brunswick, and the officer involved is one of its members.

Davidson said under the Police Act if an officer is officer involved in such investigations, their pay must be maintained until the investigation is concluded.

"When something happens horrendous in a community it's always good to have — for the community, for the officer — a period where you're not out there in the germane situation," he said.

"So it's always good to just ... cool the situation by having the officer go inside, do productive desk duties."