Family of man killed by police in NDG to launch $1M lawsuit against city

The family of Nicholas Gibbs, a 23-year-old man fatally shot by police in Montreal'sNotre-Dame-de-Grceneighbourhood this summer, plans tosuethe city for just over $1 million.

In court documents, they saypolice used "excessive and disproportionate force" against the man, who had mental health issues. They say policepoorly assessed the situation, acted unreasonably and did not follow the law regarding independent investigations on Aug. 21, the night Gibbs died.

The familyalso released cellphonevideo, just over a minute long, taken from a nearby apartment, that shows the police intervention in progress, culminating inthe momentGibbswas shot.

In their suit, Gibbs's mother Erma, two sisters, Tricia and Tamesha, and girlfriend Tanika are seeking a total of $1,035,000 in moral damages and $100,000 in punitive damages, plus interest and legal costs.

"It hurts. I have to live the rest of my life, not knowing I won't be able to see my son again," said Erma Gibbs, her voice wavering, during a news conference Tuesday morning.

"It's not going to be easy for me, to live in this city, to know this. I don't want another black family to go through this."

The family is launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the legal proceedings.

What happened?

Quebec's police watchdog, the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI),is investigating the shooting as is the case whenever someone is hurt during a police intervention and whenever a police weapon is discharged.

The BEI issued a news release with preliminary information the night the shootingoccurred.

It said police were called to the scene to break up a fight at the corner of corner of Montclair Avenue and de Maisonneuve Boulevard.

During that intervention, one of the two men approached anofficer with a knife. Police officers used a stun gun on the man, "without success." It is unclear what wasmeant by that.

Police then fatally shot the man. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Thatman was later identified asGibbs.

The video was obtained by the family's lawyer from a witness and appears to have been filmed from an apartment balcony.

When the video begins, the police operation is already underway. Gibbscan be seenwalking east on de Maisonneuve, and a voice, presumably a police officer's, is heard statingthe manhas a knife in his hand. The knife is not visible in the video.

Gibbs keeps walking, goes up to a police cruiser, reaches in and honks the horn. There don't appear to be any officers inside the cruiser.

One officer appears to try to pepper-spray Gibbs, but Gibbs thenturns and walks in the other direction.

Throughout the intervention, voices can be heard yelling at Gibbs, in French, to stop moving. (The court document from the family's lawsuitstates that Gibbs does not speak French.)Gibbs keeps going.

Another car, unrelated to the incident, rolls into the scene. Police yell at the driver to move along, which that vehicleeventually does. Gibbs is still on the move.

He starts walking toward the officers. A voice yells, "Stop," in English, four times.

On the fifth "Sto,"the gunshots start. Four ring out, and Gibbs turns and walks away.

With his back turned to the officers, a fifthshot is fired. Gibbs crumples to the ground.

A voiceyells, "Don't move. Throw your knife away. Put your knife down." Moans can beheard in the background.

The video does not show officers using a stun gun on Gibbs.

The family's court filing says fromwatching the video, it's impossible to know whetherGibbswas carrying a knife.

It states that the officers didn't try to de-escalate the situation withGibbs,and that the moment he turned his back, police officersshould have re-evaluated the situation instead of shooting again.

The following video contains graphic images and audio from apolice intervention in which a person was fatally shot. Please exercise discretion.

Man shot by police in NDG

6 years ago

Duration 1:23

Warning: The following video contains graphic images and audio from a police intervention in which a person is fatally shot. Please exercise discretion.

BEIhead charges SPVM acted illegally

The court documentsalso include a letter, dated Sept. 4, addressed to Martin Prud'homme, acting chief of the Montreal police (SPVM), fromMadeleine Giauque, the head of the BEI.

According to Giauque'sletter, SPVM officers met Gibbs'sfamily members and witnesses at the scene before speaking to the BEI.

Moreover, those statements were reviewed by SPVM investigators before the witnesses were released.

Both those actions are against the law governing theBEIand undermines its work, Giauque told Prud'homme.

That law states officers must withdraw themselves from the scene immediately after anincident and, independently of each other, write up their versionof the events that led to the incident under investigation. Those reports are then sent to the BEI.

Giauque told Prud'hommethat BEIinvestigators informed her the way SPVMinvestigators handled the early stages of the investigation into Gibbs's deathis standard practice.

"Indeed, when they told me of this situation, I learned that the same problem has arisen in several, if not all, SPVMinvestigations," Giauque said, going on to describe incidents in March 2017 and December 2016 in whichwitnesses were taken to the local police station to be questioned before BEIarrived on the scene.

Giauque said a letter had been sent to Prud'homme's predecessor raising concern about that practice.

"This way of doing things undermines the credibility of a BEI investigation," Giauque goes on to say.

She said the SPVM is the only police service in Quebec to act in such a manner.

Community activist Will Prosper, who attended Tuesday's news conference with the Gibbsfamily, accused Montreal police of showing complete disregard for the BEI.

"They know what the procedures areand they're not respecting them," Prosper said, a former RCMPofficer.

"What are they trying to hide?"

In a statement later Tuesday, BEI spokesperson Martin Bonin-Charron said the BEI does not comment on ongoing investigations, adding the director is duty bound to inform the head of a police service when its officers do not comply with the law.

SPVMspokesperson Insp. Andr Durocher confirmed that the police service had received Giauque's letter and said the SPVM has since changed its practice.

With files from CBC Montreal's Matt D'Amours