'Instead of getting help, he got three bullets': Family of man killed in Repentigny demand answers
The family of 37-year-old Jean-René “Junior” Olivier is demanding answers after he was shot and killed by Repentigny police officers on Sunday.
Family members believe the officers’ conduct was motivated by anti-Black racism.
Marie-Mireille Bence, Olivier’s mother, call to police that morning after she says he appeared to be in a state of psychosis while holding a knife.
She says Oliver told her he was seeing people around him that wanted to harm him.
Bence’s brother reportedly asked him to put the knife down, but he refused. She says she had no choice but to call the police.
“I called for help and then found my son on the ground,” said Bence Monday. “I find this absurd. There were other ways to do this, other means of disarming him, but they didn’t do that.”
Marie-Mireille Bence, mother of Jean-Rene Jr. Olivier, who was shot dead by police, holds a picture of her son in front of the family home in Repentigny, Que. on Monday, August 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Marie-Mireille Bence, mother of Jean-Rene Jr. Olivier, who was shot dead by police, holds a picture of her son in front of the family home in Repentigny, Que. on Monday, Aug\. 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
According to a report from Quebec's police watchdog (BEI), a 911 call was placed at 7:33 a.m. Sunday about "a confused and disoriented individual armed with a knife."
When paramedics and officers from Repentigny police arrived at the scene, they located Olivier, who was outside with another individual.
"The police tried to write the man a ticket, but he fled on foot," the BEI notes. "The subject allegedly had a knife in his possession and was threatening the officers."
The BEI states the officers tried "in vain" to reason with the man, even using pepper spray "without success."
"The police officers fired several shots at the man and hit him fatally," the report concludes.
Following the incident, the BEI was called to investigate "whether this information is accurate."
Dolmine Laguerre, a cousin of Jean-Rene Jr. Olivier, shows a knife similar to the one that was holding the victim before being shot dead by a police officer during a news conference in Repentigny, Que. on Monday, August 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Dolmine Laguerre, a cousin of Jean-Rene Jr. Olivier, shows a knife similar to the one that was holding the victim before being shot dead by a police officer during a news conference in Repentigny, Que. on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
“Instead of getting help, he got three bullets,” said Olivier’s cousin, Domine Lageurre. “Black people don’t have justice nowadays.”
Bence says she needs answers from the police chief and the mayor to "tell us what happened."
“As a mother, I don’t feel my kids are safe. Our kids are not safe, her kids are not safe, look at these young men here, are they safe?” she argued, referencing family and community members.
A STRING OF COMPLAINTS
The incident comes after a string of racial profiling complaints against Repentigny police.
In July, the Quebec Human Rights Commission ruled that the City of Repentigny and two local police officers should pay $38,000 in damages to former resident Leslie Blot for racial profiling.
In 2017, Blot was arrested in front of his house during a party. At the time, he claimed two police officers pulled up and questioned him because he was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend's car blowing up an inflatable children's toy.
The officers insist they questioned him because the car was not from Repentigny. It was registered in Laval, 30 minutes away.
Blot was arrested, handcuffed and given four tickets totalling over $700. One of the police officers erased Blot's recording of the intervention.
It was the fourth time the commission ruled against the city for racial profiling in a year.
“We still have about a dozen other complaints before the Human Rights Commission and we think those will complaints will be upheld,” said Fo Niemi, executive director at the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR). “[Olivier's] family has not received any call from the police chief of the mayor, [not even] a word of condolence or a word of regret.”
The BEI is asking any potential witnesses of the incident involving Olivier to contact them via their website.
-- with files from CTV News's Daniel J. Rowe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.