Family of Black man fatally shot by police in Repentigny, Que., blame racism for his death

The family of aRepentigny, Que., manwho died after police shot him three times in the stomach on Sundayare blaming anti-Black racism in the city's police forcefor his death and are demanding justice.

Marie-Mireille Bence, the mother of the victim, called police Sunday morningasking them to bring her son, Jean Ren Junior Olivier, 37, to the hospital becausehe was having a mental health issue.

"He told me he wasseeing people around him, people wanting to hurt him," Bence told reportersalongside her family at a newsconference Monday afternoon.

Instead of helping him, Bence said, six police officers arrived at her doorstep and shot him in the stomach. When police arrived, he had been holding a dinner knife, but the family saidhe had dropped it.

"He threw the knife on the ground and that's when they shot him. They shot him three times," Bence said.

"They're criminals. They killed my son," shesaid. "I called them for help and they showed up and killed him. I find it absurd because there were other ways of dealing with this, of bringing him under control."

Quebec's police watchdog,Bureau des enqutes indpendantes(BEI),is investigating the shooting. It saidRepentigny police responded to a 911 call shortly after 7:30 a.m. for a "confused and disoriented" person reportedly armed with a knife in a residential area.

According to Bence,she and her brother asked Olivier to give them the knife. When herefused, she called the police,specifying that she wanted helptransportinghim to hospital.

"I didn't want him to hurt himself,but look at where that left me," shesaid.

'Black people do not have justice'

When the officers arrived, Bence said, they asked her and her brother to go insideand lock the door. She saidshe did as she was told, only to hear shots ring out.

Then, an officercame to thedoor to ask if Olivierwas suffering from mental health issues, she said. The officeroffered to accompany her to Royal Victoria Hospital to be treated for shock, which she refused.

Dolmine Laguerre,the victim's cousin, said her family is now seeking answers about and accountability for the shooting.

"Black people do nothave justice nowadays," Laguerre said."We are not safe in Repentigny ... our skin colour speaks for us."

WATCH |Victim's cousin says Black people are not safe in Repentigny:

Family of Black man fatally shot by police in Repentigny seeks justice

3 years ago

Duration 0:51

Dolmine Laguerre, the victim's cousin, says Black people are not safe in Repentigny and is calling for accountability for the shooting.

Bencequestionswhy police shot her son in the stomach instead of aiming for his leg or using a Taser to subduehim.

"He's not violent. He wasn't putting anyone's life in danger," she said.

Bence saidafter what happened to her son, she has completely lost faith in the police.

"Tomorrow, if I have something, do you think I'll call 911? Never," she said. "I would rather die in my corner than call them again."

"Repentigny police, they do not want to see Black people," Bence said."911 is not for Black people."

CBC News has sought comment from Repentigny and the Quebec government. Last year, Repentigny police hired a consulting firm to help address persistent racial-profiling issues.

In a statement released Sunday, the city said: "We understand that this situation can be particularly difficult for Black people who already have a lot of apprehension toward our service."

Quebec'santi-racism minister,Benoit Charette,as well asMinister of Public Security Genevive Guilbault refused to comment on the incident while the BEI is investigating.

A history of profiling

Theincident comes after a string of racial-profiling complaints against theRepentigny police.

In July,Quebec's human rightscommission found that the police force had raciallydiscriminated against Leslie Blot, a Black man who was stopped, handcuffedand ticketed in 2017 whilehe was blowing up balloons for his children in the passenger seat of a car outside his home.

In its decision, the commission said theRepentignypolice made Blot a"victim of discrimination, under form of profiling, founded on the intersectionality of motives of race, colour and sex."

His case is the fourth time the human rights commission has ruled against Repentigny.

At abrief news conference Monday afternoon,theRepentigny police department saidit wants to "rebuild bridges with the Black community."

"The sensitivity is perhaps not as present as we'd like it to be," police ChiefHelen Dion said. Racial profilingis a pervasive issue, she said,and the force is working with organizations and developing strategies to ensure police interventions are without bias or discrimination.

Dion saidthe fatal shooting of Olivier is the first of its kind in the history of the service, and its members' hearts are with his family.

Following the decision against Repentigny in the Blot case in July, the city said in a statement that it wasdeveloping an action plan, was committed to a process of "organizational transformation" andwould announce a series of concrete measures over the summer.

But Fo Niemi, executivedirectorof the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations in Montreal,saidOlivier's death will deepen the riftbetween Repentigny residents and thepolice.

"The situation could have been resolved differently and it escalated into something really tragic," he said.

"The question is can we really rely on the BEI watchdog agency to conduct the investigation? Because the agency has not been very successful in terms of transparency and in terms of providing the kind of results that many people expect."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.