Fredy Villanueva's mother stormed out of a courtroom and broke down sobbing Wednesday, after a lawyer stated at a coroner's inquest that her son's death was the result of his own behaviour.
The public inquiry was called after Villanueva, 18, was shot and killed by Montreal police Const. Jean-Loup Lapointe in August 2008 at a park in Montreal North.
The proceedings came to a sudden halt while community activist Alexandre Popovic grilled Lapointe during a cross-examination and suggested he drew his gun too quickly.
Pierre-Yves Boisvert, a lawyer for the city of Montreal, objected and said:
"The city intends to argue that Fredy Villanueva was a victim of his own behaviour and that of his brother Dany's."
Lapointe was attempting to arrest Dany Villanueva, who was accompanied by Fredy and a number of other youths, when the fatal altercation began.
The group had been playing dice at the park, which is against a city bylaw.
Villanueva's family, friends and supporters were outraged by the suggestion that Fredy played a role in his own death.
"I'm very disappointed in Mr. Boisvert and the fact that coroner (Andre) Perrault let him go with it," said Will Prosper, who represents the Montreal-Nord Republik community group.
But Michael Stober, one of the lawyers representing the city, said the comment was fair.
"There's been a lot of insinuations and comments made toward Const. Lapointe that he intended to kill Villanueva. All he (Boisvert) did is say that the only people responsible were Fredy and Dany," Stober said.
