Montreal police officer charged with manslaughter after man is hit by bullet, falls out window

A Montreal police officer has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a man in a drug raid last year.

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Christian Gilbert hit Bony Jean-Pierre in the head with a plastic bullet as the man was trying to clamber out of a window in the building where the police operation was taking place.

Jean-Pierre fell from the window and suffered further injuries when he hit the ground on March 31, 2016.

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He was declared dead in hospital.

His death sparked a riot in the borough of Montreal North about a week later, with the local police station vandalized and police cruisers torched.

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If found guilty, Gilbert faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.