Police officer who shot a Montreal man to death will not face charges

It was a brutal end to Nicholas Gibbs’ life in August 2018.

The 23-year-old had psychiatric problems, he smashed a police cruiser window, then threatened the officers with a knife.

After a tense stand-off in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, the officers shot and killed the young father, but according to Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), the officer's conduct was not criminal.

"After reviewing the report produced by the Independent Bureau of Investigators (BEI), the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) concludes that the analysis of the evidence does not reveal the commission of a criminal offence by the officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) who took part in the intervention," the BEI's statement read.

The BEI was assigned in October 2019 to conduct a complete review of the evidence in the case, using expert reports to determine how the events on Aug. 21, 2018 unfolded, leading to his death.

Retired police commander Andre Durocher said the officers likely had no choice.

“It's quite clear that we were faced with a situation that we would call suicide by cop, one by which they want the cop to terminate their lives,” he said in an interview. 

Reached by CTV News on Tuesday, the family's lawyer declined to comment.

His family has maintained that police used "excessive" and a "disproportionate" amount of force during their intervention, adding that Gibbs had ongoing mental health issues and it wasn't his first run-in with police. They have said, though, that they believe nothing could justify the officer's actions.

From day one, Gibbs’ family insisted there should have been a better way to intervene for a man with obvious mental health issues. His mother, Erma Gibbs, wondered back then if race was a factor in the tragedy. They've launched a $1-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the police force and the officers involved.

In October 2018, she recounted how she couldn’t deal with the loss of her son.

“I can't sleep at night, I get up often to think about it,” she said.

Video released by witnesses showed police shooting at the young man, with at least two shots fired while Gibbs had his back turned.

In releasing its decision not to charge officers, the DPCP laid out what transpired that evening on Montclair Ave.

Police arrived at the scene at 8:16 p.m. in a patrol vehicle, following a 911 call made by a citizen who reported a fight between two men.

“Once in the area, they did not spot the men. Then, as their vehicle arrived at a slow speed at an intersection, a man punched out the passenger side window of the police vehicle. Unbeknownst to the police officers, the man was holding a knife in his hands and the window was smashed by the end of the handle of the knife,” the statement read.

POLICE USED TASER BEFORE SHOOTING MAN IN DISTRESS

The man came partially into the vehicle through the window and tried to seize one of the officers’ service weapons while uttering death threats against them.

The police officers moved away, stopped the vehicle and got out. They then noticed the man was armed with a knife, the report said, adding that Gibbs advanced toward and then retreated from the officers.

After requesting backup, the two officers followed the young man on foot, asking him to drop the knife.

When he refused, one of the officers Tasered him, twice. The first shot hit the man, knocking him to the ground. He got up, however, and continued in on the officers, saying "shoot me."

Still holding a knife, the report claims he continued to make threatening comments. A second attempt at using the Taser on the man was unsuccessful.

Police then pepper sprayed Gibbs, saying they did so because he was standing close to the patrol car, and its engine was still running. They were perhaps too far away, however, because the spray had no effect on the young man.

A third officer then arrived on the scene, and the three police officers formed a half-moon around Gibbs, following him as he moved down the street, still armed with a knife.

The three officers had their firearms drawn, and when Gibbs advanced toward one of them, that police officer backed up until he could no longer, “practically backed into a car,” the report said.

At that point, one of the other officers yelled five times at the man to stop. Gibbs continued to approach the officer, who was leaning against the vehicle and could not back up any further.

“When the man was within four metres of the trapped officer, the officer who was pleading with the man to stop fired five times in a sequence of shots that lasted less than five seconds,” the report read. “The man was hit by three of the five bullets, but it was the first of the three impacts that proved fatal.” 

“He remained in possession of the knife until he collapsed to the ground immediately after the fifth shot. The police approached him and one of them pushed the knife out of his reach. Resuscitation efforts were initiated, but were unsuccessful,” the report read.

The DPCP said based on the evidence, the officer met the criteria in Section 25 of the Criminal Code, meaning he acted on reasonable grounds and used as much force as was necessary under the circumstances. Under that section of the law, a peace officer may subdue a person in crisis because of the risk to themselves or others, even if that reasonable force includes death or serious injury.

“Police officers are often placed in situations where they must make difficult decisions quickly. In this context, they cannot be expected to measure the degree of force applied accurately at all times,” the report read. “The analysis of the evidence does not reveal the commission of a criminal act by the SPVM officer who used his service weapon to protect his life and that of his colleagues.”