Quebec’s Bureau of independent investigations has dispatched a team of nine investigators to Saint-Georges in the Beauce region after a 47-year-old man was killed during a Sûreté du Québec police intervention.
Brandon Christian of St-Georges, was identified as the victim by the Quebec coroner’s office on Monday.
Christian, listed on several hockey websites as being originally from Burlington, Ont., had played in the Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey up until a few years ago — primarily with the club located in the Beauce region, south of Quebec City, between 2004 and 2017.
His former club, the Cool FM de St-Georges-de-Beauce, extended its condolences to Christian’s family and friends on its Facebook page.
“The Cool FM organization is saddened to learn of the death of Brandon Christian,” the organization wrote. “Brandon was an important player in his own way in the history of the franchise.”
Preliminary information gathered by the BEI suggests the events took place Sunday evening after a woman, fearing for her safety, called 911 to report her ex-partner was in distress and armed with a stick.
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The BEI says officers with the SQ located the man wandering in the streets of Saint-Georges and described him as “aggressive and confused.”
The officers tried unsuccessfully to surround and immobilize the man using various methods including a stun gun and cayenne pepper, according to the BEI.
During the intervention, police shot the man.
He was taken to hospital where he later died of his injuries.
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The BEI is now tasked with verifying the accuracy of the report.
The BEI investigates whenever a person is seriously injured or dies during a police intervention in Quebec.
— With files from The Canadian Press