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BEI issued biased press release, rules Quebec Court of Appeal

Cesur Celik, father of Koray Kevin Celik, delivers a statement as Tracy Wing, mother of Riley Fairholm looks on during a news conference in Montreal on Monday, September 16, 2019. The sons of both parents were killed during separate police interventions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Cesur Celik, father of Koray Kevin Celik, delivers a statement as Tracy Wing, mother of Riley Fairholm looks on during a news conference in Montreal on Monday, September 16, 2019. The sons of both parents were killed during separate police interventions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
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Quebec's Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) issued a biased press release about a man who was killed by police officers in 2017.

Koray Kevin Celik's family sued the BEI, Quebec's police watchdog, arguing that a press release describing the outcome of its investigation was inaccurate and contained only the police's version of events.

A provincial court judge sided with the family in a 2021 decision and awarded Celik's parents and brothers $30,000 in damages.

The provincial government appealed the decision, arguing that the BEI had done nothing wrong and, even if it had, did not harm the family's dignity.

Court of Appeal Judge Simon Ruel concluded that although the trial judge had made some errors in his decision, his conclusions were valid.

Celik, 28, died after police were called to the family home in Montreal's west end by his parents, who feared he was drinking and driving.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 1, 2024.

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