Family of man killed by Repentigny police suing city for $430K

The family of a Black man who was fatally shot by two Repentigny police officers in 2021 says it is suing the city.

The family of Jean-René Junior Olivier says it is seeking $430,000 from the City of Repentigny “for damages caused for the loss of their son.”

Olivier was fatally shot on Aug. 1, 2021 after his mother called 911 because of the psychological state of her son.

“My son was in a state and I called 911,” said Mireille Bence at a press conference alongside her lawyer Tuesday. “This day when I called them, I told them my son has a knife in his hand and he didn’t want to give it to me.

“He sees people coming to kill him. I told them the state he’s in, to send an ambulance to take him to a psychiatric hospital. When they got on the scene, they killed him.”

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The family says it hopes the lawsuit will bring changes to how the Repentigny police intervene with Black people with mental-health issues.

“When I’m alone, it’s there my problem. I cry ever day,” added Bence. “Since August 1, I haven’t stopped crying.

“The City of Repentigny does nothing. They leave me alone in my situation.”

“It was important to have concerted efforts concerning mental health, however in that intervention, nothing was taken into consideration,” said lawyer, Marie-Livia Beaugé. “We have reason to believe if Olivier was a white person, he would still be alive today.”

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BACKGROUND:

• Calls for police accountability as officers who fatally shot Jean René Olivier face no charges
• ‘Why three bullets?’: Family of Black Quebec man shot dead by police wants answers
• Report: Black people three times more likely to be stopped by police in Repentigny

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Meanwhile advocates are calling for the Quebec public security minister to order a public inquest by the chief coroner’s office to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

The Red Coalition anti-racism group and the Lakay group based in Repentigny are hoping for answers.

“We believe that a public inquest into Junior’s death will expose the systemic racism and prejudice that has been allowed to fester and escalate within the SPVR (Service de police de la Ville de Repentigny), which may have contributed to his untimely death,” said Joel DeBellefeuille, the director and founder of the Red Coalition, in a statement.

On Feb. 16, 2023, Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office (DCPC) advised the public that no criminal charges would be laid against the officers involved in the case. According to the DCPC’s analysis of the investigation prepared by Quebec’s independent police watchdog (BEI), the use of force and firearms was justified.

“It is the police officers role to de-escalate the situation,” said Beaugé. “They were 6 police officers, when he was alone with a small kitchen knife. So are you telling me the only possibility they had was to kill him? We know there was a police officer with a taser, why didn’t they use it?” 

WATCH: Vigil for Black man killed by Repentigny police

“The approach has to be different according to us,” said lawyer, Wilerne Bernard. “The approach has to be more calm. I would understand if they shot once, but three shots against one person with a knife in his hands is exaggerated.”

Olivier’s death shook the Black community in Repentigny, who have accused local police of several instances of racial profiling.

“The death of Jean René Junior Olivier is the culmination of an escalating series of racial incidents over the last 10 years between the SPVR and Repentigny’s Black community,” added Pierre Richard Thomas, president of Lakay.

“In the midst of Black History Month, his family and the entire Black community of Repentigny are expressing their feelings of injustice, sadness, great disappointment and lack of trust in the City of Repentigny and its police service.”

A spokesperson from the City of Repentigny tells CityNews: “Although we are very sensitive to this event which shook our entire community, out of respect for all those involved and the legal process, the City of Repentigny and its police department won’t comment on the subject.”

Olivier’s family is hoping for a shift in policing.

“I don’t think it will change overnight but for the future, to make sure another parent doesn’t have to live what I am living right now,” said his mother.