Family of teen killed by officers files $2.2M lawsuit against Longueuil police, city

“It’s as if he wanted to eliminate Nooran. That was his intention.”

Those are the piercing words from the mother of 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi, who was killed by Longueuil police earlier this year, as six members of the boy’s family sue the city and police force for $2.2 million.

The family is accusing officers of the Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL) of using “unreasonable and disproportionate” force by opening fire “extremely quickly” on Nooran twice.

“They killed my child for no reason,” Fahima Rezayi said at a press conference Tuesday. “Why was that officer in such a hurry to shoot Nooran twice, without even taking the time to think? He didn’t even give him five seconds to lie down. That’s the most painful part.”

In a brief joint statement to CityNews, the City of Longueuil and the SPAL said it would not comment because the matter is before the courts.

Nooran Rezayi was shot and killed by police on Sept. 21. Officers were responding to a 911 call about a group of potentially armed youths on the street of a residential area.

According to the transcript of the 911 call obtained by Radio-Canada, around 2:47 p.m. someone reported the presence of 15 to 20 masked individuals armed with a baseball bat and a rifle in the Saint-Hubert area of Longueuil. The presence of a firearm was mentioned four times during the call.

Surveillance footage sent to the family by a resident living nearby purporting to show the scene at 2:53 p.m., four minutes before officers arrived, shows fours individuals sitting on the curb and two standing — all racialized teenagers who were mostly on their phones. Nooran is among the ones sitting on the curb, the lawsuit indicates.

One of the family’s lawyers, Fernando Belton, criticized the leak to media of the contents of the 911 call. The caller’s reported account contrasts with the surveillance video, which shows six youth “sitting on the sidewalk, doing absolutely nothing” four minutes before the shooting, Belton said.

The first police officers arrived on the scene at 2:57 p.m. At 2:58 p.m., Nooran was shot by the police officer. The Rezayi family says surveillance footage appears to show 10 seconds elapse between the moment police arrive and the fatal shots.

“The six youths saw a police vehicle turn toward them a corner ahead,” the lawsuit reads. “As it turned, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without flashing lights or sirens. Five of the youths, including Nooran, began running northeast down Joseph-Daigneault Street. The police vehicle gave chase and turned onto Joseph-Daigneault Street at high speed.

“Before starting to run, Nooran grabbed his backpack, which had been lying next to him, with his left hand. A blue baseball bat handle, possibly a child’s, was protruding from the bag.

“The police vehicle passed two of the youths and stopped a few metres further on. Two officers got out of the vehicle and pointed their weapons at the youths. One of them yelled ‘get down’ three times in quick succession. Immediately after shouting this order for the third time, a police officer fired two consecutive shots at Nooran, hitting him in the torso both times.”

The lawsuit alleges only three seconds went by after an officer shouts to get on the ground and the fatal shots.

The videos do not show the shooting.

“They had information from the 911 call, but then they have to adapt with what they see,” said Virginie Dufresne-Lemire, another of the family’s lawyers. “What they see is what you saw: six boys sitting in the street.

“The police rushed, creating a high-tension situation that they will later invoke to justify feeling endangered.”

Paramedics were called to the scene and attempted to resuscitate the teenager at 3:03 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Charles-Lemoyne Hospital at 3:29 p.m.

“While Nooran was seriously wounded by the two shots, the police officers rushed to inspect his bag first rather than perform CPR,” the lawusite continues. “No weapon was found in Nooran’s bag, apart from the baseball bat, nor on any of the youths present.

“According to information released to the media, the first CPR maneuvers were only performed five minutes later, following the arrival of reinforcements.”

According to the lawsuit, the family still does not know the identities of the two responding officers.

“The police waited more than five hours afterward to tell us the news,” Fahima Rezayi said. “It gives the impression that they were trying to buy time to protect their colleague.”

Quebec’s independent police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), reported finding a baseball bat after the fatal shooting. The only firearm seized belonged to the officer who shot the teenager, it reported. A backpack and some ski masks were also recovered afterwards, according to the oversight body.

The Longueuil police officer who fired their weapon was placed on an indefinite sick leave.

The family says it is seeking compensation for the “numerous damages” it has suffered, but adds that it also wants to highlight “the accountability of those responsible for Nooran’s death.”

“We want justice,” Fahima said. “We want the officer to be punished and the police department to take responsibility.”

Dufresne-Lemire said that, “for us, it is clear that the police did not act reasonably.” She said police officers have a right to use force, but have an obligation to use it as a last resort, and to apply it gradually and proportionally. They also have a duty to assess the scene appropriately, she said.

In this case, she said the officers should have slowed down and given the teens a chance to comply with orders. “Had they done so, they would have found no weapon, except for a baseball bat in a bag, and they would have been obligated to release them,” she said. “It would have been a non-event.”

She noted that some groups of people, including those who are racialized, are subjected to higher levels of violence, “notably due to institutionalized racism.”

The BEI is still investigating the fatal shooting. The Rezayi family laments that they are still seeking answers two months after Nooran’s death, as they have not had access to the results of the ongoing investigations.

“For me, the police are no longer protectors. Every time I see police officers, I see them as potential killers,” the boy’s mother said.

She described her son as a kind, cheerful and funny child who wanted a “simple, happy life” and dreamt of travelling and opening a business — possibly a barber shop.

“Nooran means light in Persian. There’s no light in my house anymore. I wonder why.”

–With files from The Canadian Press