No criminal charges in Montreal police shooting of Black man
"In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their control. protection."
Author of the article:
Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette
Publishing date:
Dec 14, 2021 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read •
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Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police.
Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
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Quebec’s office of criminal prosecutions has determined no criminal charges will be filed against Montreal police officers in an intervention that ended in the fatal shooting of a Black man in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce three years ago.
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Nicholas Gibbs, 23, was shot three times on the night of Aug. 21, 2018 after police officers responded to a call reporting that two men were involved in a fight.
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According to a statement issued by the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) on Tuesday, Gibbs was carrying a knife and refused to drop it when ordered by police to do so. He also smashed the window of a police vehicle and tried to disarm one of the first two officers who arrived.
Gibbs’s mother, Erma Gibbs, has said in the past that her son was not carrying a knife before police shot him. She and other members of her family are suing the city of Montreal over the police shooting.
The DPCP said two prosecutors who examined the file met with Gibbs’s relatives “to inform them of the reasons for the decision.”
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Virginie Dufresne-Lemire, the lawyer representing the family in the lawsuit, said she will consult with her clients before proceeding further in the case. The attorney also said Erma Gibbs would have no comment on the DPCP’s findings while the lawsuit is still pending.
The DPCP’s explanation of why no charges will be filed describes how two police officers who were trying to find two men fighting in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce were caught off-guard by Gibbs.
“As their vehicle slowed down at an intersection, (Gibbs) smashed the passenger side window of the police vehicle with a punch. Unbeknownst to the police, the man held a knife in his hands and used the end of the handle of the knife to strike and shatter the passenger side window. The man entered through the broken window and tried to seize the service weapon of one of the police officers, while uttering death threats against them,” the DPCP wrote.
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The police officers exited the vehicle and watched as Gibbs moved toward them and backed up a few times. It was then that they realized he was holding a knife, the DPCP said. They called for backup and followed Gibbs “on foot while asking him to drop his knife.”
When he refused, one of the officers used an electric pulse weapon twice on Gibbs. He fell to the ground but got back up and said: “shoot me.”
He then approached the idling police vehicle and the officers feared he was about to drive away in it. One of the officers tried to use pepper-spray to stop him but the effort failed, likely because of the distance between the two.
By this time a third police officer had arrived at the scene. All three had their firearms drawn as they approached Gibbs while ordering him to drop his knife.
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He approached one of the officers who backed up until he ended up against a vehicle. It was then that one of the police officers fired five shots toward Gibbs and three of the bullets found their mark .
“Police officers are often placed in situations where they must quickly make difficult decisions. In this context, they cannot be required to measure the degree of applied force with precision at all times,” the DPCP wrote.
“In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their protection.”
The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) handed over a report on its investigation to a committee of three prosecutors on Oct. 29, 2019. The committee requested further investigation by the BEI and sought expert opinions before making their decision. The DPCP said the final report on the investigation was submitted to the prosecutors in August.
pcherry@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
"In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their control. protection."
Author of the article:
Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette
Publishing date:
Dec 14, 2021 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read •
Join the conversation
Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police.
Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
Article content
Quebec’s office of criminal prosecutions has determined no criminal charges will be filed against Montreal police officers in an intervention that ended in the fatal shooting of a Black man in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce three years ago.
Advertisement
Story continues below
Article content
Nicholas Gibbs, 23, was shot three times on the night of Aug. 21, 2018 after police officers responded to a call reporting that two men were involved in a fight.
Food for thought: Can you eat your way to a better brain?
Tracker dslogo
According to a statement issued by the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) on Tuesday, Gibbs was carrying a knife and refused to drop it when ordered by police to do so. He also smashed the window of a police vehicle and tried to disarm one of the first two officers who arrived.
Gibbs’s mother, Erma Gibbs, has said in the past that her son was not carrying a knife before police shot him. She and other members of her family are suing the city of Montreal over the police shooting.
The DPCP said two prosecutors who examined the file met with Gibbs’s relatives “to inform them of the reasons for the decision.”
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Story continues below
Article content
Virginie Dufresne-Lemire, the lawyer representing the family in the lawsuit, said she will consult with her clients before proceeding further in the case. The attorney also said Erma Gibbs would have no comment on the DPCP’s findings while the lawsuit is still pending.
The DPCP’s explanation of why no charges will be filed describes how two police officers who were trying to find two men fighting in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce were caught off-guard by Gibbs.
“As their vehicle slowed down at an intersection, (Gibbs) smashed the passenger side window of the police vehicle with a punch. Unbeknownst to the police, the man held a knife in his hands and used the end of the handle of the knife to strike and shatter the passenger side window. The man entered through the broken window and tried to seize the service weapon of one of the police officers, while uttering death threats against them,” the DPCP wrote.
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Story continues below
Article content
The police officers exited the vehicle and watched as Gibbs moved toward them and backed up a few times. It was then that they realized he was holding a knife, the DPCP said. They called for backup and followed Gibbs “on foot while asking him to drop his knife.”
When he refused, one of the officers used an electric pulse weapon twice on Gibbs. He fell to the ground but got back up and said: “shoot me.”
He then approached the idling police vehicle and the officers feared he was about to drive away in it. One of the officers tried to use pepper-spray to stop him but the effort failed, likely because of the distance between the two.
By this time a third police officer had arrived at the scene. All three had their firearms drawn as they approached Gibbs while ordering him to drop his knife.
Advertisement
Story continues below
Article content
He approached one of the officers who backed up until he ended up against a vehicle. It was then that one of the police officers fired five shots toward Gibbs and three of the bullets found their mark .
“Police officers are often placed in situations where they must quickly make difficult decisions. In this context, they cannot be required to measure the degree of applied force with precision at all times,” the DPCP wrote.
“In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their protection.”
The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) handed over a report on its investigation to a committee of three prosecutors on Oct. 29, 2019. The committee requested further investigation by the BEI and sought expert opinions before making their decision. The DPCP said the final report on the investigation was submitted to the prosecutors in August.
pcherry@postmedia.com
No criminal charges in police shooting of Black man Nicholas Gibbs in N.D.G.
Nicholas Gibbs, 23, was shot three times on Aug. 21, 2018 after police officers responded to a call reporting that two men were involved in a fight.
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