An 18-year-old man is in a coma after he was shot in the head during a confrontation with officers at a courthouse in Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada.
The man, who wasn’t identified by authorities, was in the courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 31, for sentencing of an unspecified criminal activity, his mother, also not named, told CBC.
The altercation started after the man asked for a smoke break, but was told he couldn’t have one since he’d already been sentenced and remanded to custody, the mother said.
The man at one point seized an officer’s telescopic baton and hit him with it in the head, stated the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes (BEI), an independent agency investigating deaths and injuries by police using firearms.
Le BEI annonce la prise en charge d’une enquête à Maniwaki. Plus de détails suivront.
— BEI Québec (@BEIQc) January 31, 2018
8 enquêteurs ont été chargés d'enquêter sur l'événement survenu à Maniwaki HAP 21h00 https://t.co/Lir3hjbQhT
— BEI Québec (@BEIQc) January 31, 2018
A video capturing part of the incident shows an officer holding the young man by the neck and trying to force him inside a room, while the man struggles to get away from the room. After about a minute the officer manages to get the man through the door. Other men in uniform are looking on.
After about another minute a gunshot is heard from the room.
Both the man and the officer were taken to a hospital. The officer has since been released.
MÀJ Maniwaki. Les enquêteurs ont quitté la scène à 05h35 ce matin. L'enquête se poursuit.
— BEI Québec (@BEIQc) February 1, 2018
The officer was a special constable, part of a force stationed at courthouses.
Quebec special constables’ union President Franck Perales said the video showed only one special constable at the scene. The other men in uniform may have been private security guards.
Perales said the union is pushing for more constables and criticizes the use of private security guards, who, he said, lack the training to handle similar situations.
The mother said her son was shot near his nose and the bullet was lodged in his neck.
From The Epoch Times
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