Fredy Villanueva, 18, died on Saturday, August 9, 2008, after being shot during a confrontation with two police officers in Henri-Bourassa Park in Montreal.
Quebec provincial police launched an investigation into the shooting, but various community groups called for a public inquiry.
After prosecutors examined the investigation report and concluded that the officers’ actions were in self-defence, provincial Justice Minister Jacques Dupuis ordered a public inquiry into the matter.
According to the report, Montreal police officers Stephanie Pilotte and Jean-Loup Lapointe spotted a group of youths (including Villanueva) playing dice in the park, prohibited under a municipal bylaw.
Dany Villanueva, the older brother of Fredy, refused to identify himself and resisted when Pilotte tried to arrest him. Lapointe tried to assist Pilotte, but the youths surrounded the officers, and began to assault them.
According to the report, Lapointe felt hands on his body close to his gun and pepper spray. He then took out his gun and fired four times, hitting Villanueva twice and Denis Meas and Jeffrey Sagor-Metellus once each.
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Villanueva’s family filed a lawsuit in February seeking $1 million from the City of Montreal and the two police officers involved in the incident.
According to the filing, the four young men were in the parking lot of the Henri Bourassa arena in Montreal’s north end, when Lapointe called to Dany and told him to approach the squad car claiming he had contravened a municipal bylaw.
Lapointe then grabbed Dany, and tried to handcuff him, pushing him onto the ground, the court document states. Pilotte tried to help by grabbing Dany’s legs. When Lapointe had Dany in a headlock, Fredy asked why he was being so aggressive.
According to the filing, the officer then pulled out his gun and fired at Villanueva, Meas and Sagor-Metellus. Villanueva died from massive blood loss.
Meas, 18 and Sagor-Metellus, 20, recovered from their injuries and also filed a lawsuit against the city and police for $810,000.
The day after Villaneuva’s death, tensions erupted after an afternoon protest in the park. A riot broke out, and bands of youths took to the streets, looting stores and burning cars. Three police officers were injured.
The park is located in a predominantly Haitian neighbourhood, and according to residents, there exists a high degree of tension between youth and police.
Two organizations recently withdrew from participating in the inquiry, just as it was set to begin.
The Coalition Contre la Répression et les Abus Policiers, a group against police brutality, said it had recently been accorded "interested party" status for the inquest, but did not have adequate time to prepare.
The Ligue des droits et libertés also pulled out of the inquest, demanding instead a public inquiry into the wider issues of racial profiling, police accountability and government efforts to help poor neighbourhoods.
While Villanueva’s death and the subsequent inquest have caught public attention, the problems of alleged police repression and inadequate government aid are not being addressed by the coroner, according to the Ligue des droits et libertés.
With files from Canwest News Service
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