‘Should never have ended like that’: Inuk man killed by police in Quebec’s Far North

MONTREAL — A remote northern Quebec community is demanding justice after a man was shot and killed and his twin brother seriously injured by police responding to someone allegedly trying to drive while impaired.

Joshua Papigatuk was killed and his twin brother Garnet is recovering in a Montreal hospital following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service early Monday in Salluit, an Inuit fly-in community about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal.

Mosusi Tarkirk is a 24-year-old Salluit resident who grew up with the brothers in the Inuit village and considered them best friends.

“It should never have ended like that,” he said, adding that from what he has heard neither brother was armed. “They get called because someone is about to be driving intoxicated … from that to shooting, they’re (supposed to be) trying to de-escalate situations, that’s not what we saw.”

He said people don’t feel safe since the shooting, the latest incident involving locals and police.

“We’re all shocked. We are all angered. We are all feeling not safe in this community,” Tarkirk said. “We want justice for the twins. We need those cops that were on scene to just get out of Nunavik and never come back, and we need an investigation into the Nunavik Police Service.”

Other residents have been paying tribute to the brothers online and have been fundraising for their family. Both brothers were fathers with young children, and the family will also have expenses while tending to Garnet.

Tarkirk said members of the police force largely come from southern Quebec, and many are young and inexperienced. “We have rookies that keep coming up north … it’s literally zero to 100: they show up, they don’t like what they see, that gun is pulled out,” he said.

He said protests and marches have been held in a number of northern communities, including Salluit, since Monday’s fatal shooting. “We’re asking for justice,” Tarkirk said.

Nunavik police have said they were responding to a call when an officer fired his service weapon at the scene. Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, said the officers answered a call for someone attempting to drive while intoxicated.

According to the BEI, officers deployed a stun gun and pepper spray. An officer then opened fire and hit one of the men, the agency said, adding that when the second man continued to fight, he was also shot by the officer.

At least two videos shot by bystanders have circulated widely on social media since the Monday shooting, depicting a man seemingly being shot at close range by a police officer.

Nunavik police are equipped with body-worn cameras, and a spokesman for the watchdog says the footage will be examined. Neither the police nor the BEI have said the brothers were armed.

On Wednesday, Nunavik Police Service Chief Jean-Pierre Larose said the force will work to regain trust in the community and welcomed an open, complete investigation. “Our officers are deeply saddened by what has taken place,” Larose said in a statement. “We honour the responsibility that the northern villages give us and we take our oath seriously.”

Makivvik, the political organization that represents the Inuit in Nunavik — Quebec’s northernmost region — issued a statement Tuesday saying it “strongly condemns” the police actions and stands with the Papigatuk family.

“This tragedy is a painful reminder that policing in Nunavik needs significant reform to truly serve and protect our people,” said Makivvik president Pita Aatami. “Non-lethal de-escalation methods must become standard practice, and there must be a stronger, more respectful connection between police and our communities.”

The Kativik Regional Government said it’s in contact with officials in Salluit to co-ordinate grief and trauma counselling.

“I am deeply shocked by the shooting of these two men,” chairperson Hilda Snowball said in a statement. “We are so connected to one another. It’s a bond that we especially feel in times of loss. One premature loss of life is one too many.”

Tarkirk said he has been crying on and off since Monday. He described the brothers as excellent hunters devoted to their community and to their families. He said his trust in police is now gone.

“I keep letting people know, just stop calling the cops,” he said. “Something is going on, let’s deal with it ourselves.”

The BEI opened an investigation into the fatal shooting but a blizzard has so far prevented their investigators and provincial police from reaching the northern community. Investigators will try to land again on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press