Nooran Rezayi shooting: Longueuil mayor asks for probe into SPAL
Posted December 11, 2025 5:16 pm.
Last Updated December 12, 2025 9:07 am.
Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier asked Quebec Minister of Public Security Ian Lafrenière to launch an investigation into the Longueuil Police Service (SPAL) in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting involving a 15-year-old boy.
The request follows allegations of breaches by SPAL in notifying the police watchdog, Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) following the fatal shooting of Nooran Rezayi, the 15-year-old high school student, in September.
In a press release Thursday, Fournier said she requested an investigation after learning about “several alleged breaches of the SPAL’s legal and regulatory obligations,” three weeks ago, in the email exchanges between BEI director Brigitte Bishop and SPAL chief Patrick Bélanger.
The letters indicate that police took more than 90 minutes after the shooting before informing the watchdog what happened and that officers continued to question witnesses at the scene, contrary to the rules they were supposed to follow.
“These letters reveal several alleged breaches of (Longueuil police’s) legal and regulatory obligations in the events following the tragic death of Nooran Rezayi on September 21, following a police shooting,” the city’s statement said.
The watchdog’s rules of conduct are also enshrined in the Police Act, which state an independent investigation must be conducted if a person, other than an on-duty police officer, dies or is seriously injured by a firearm used by a police officer during an intervention or while in custody.
According to the act, the director of the police force involved in such an incident “must inform the Bureau without delay.”
Per the watchdog’s own information, the shooting took place about 2:58 p.m. and the agency started its own probe at 4:54 p.m.
One of the letters, sent by Bishop and dated Nov. 5, noted that the police force only informed the watchdog about the incident at 4:34 p.m., after officers spoke to witnesses on the scene.
Bélanger responded on Nov. 11, suggesting that the rules do not require police to inform the watchdog “immediately,” instead suggesting that they should give notice at “the first reasonable opportunity.”
He also said police officers remained on scene to provide care to the person who was shot, as well as to ensure that there was no additional public safety threat.
He said police also received a call at 3:26 p.m. a few kilometres away about a potentially armed youth, leading them to believe there was a link. He said it required “rapid action” to completely take control of both scenes to ensure they were safe for both police and members of the public.
Under the circumstances, Bélanger wrote that the delay was “reasonable and justified.”
But Bishop rejected his assessment in a subsequent letter, dated Nov. 25, noting that a police officer signalled at 3:01 p.m., that there were no additional suspects.
She also noted that the police continued collecting witness statements until 6:22 p.m., after the watchdog had started its investigation.
“In this context, I am startled by your statement that you were not concerned about the time elapsed before giving notice to the BEI, even though, in similar situations, the average time is 33 minutes.”
Fournier notes that the city cannot interfere in police operations and that the only legal option her administration could take, under the Police Act, was to send the letter to Lafrenière to request a probe.
In a social media post Thursday, Minister Lafrenière said that the ministry was reviewing the mayor’s request to determine the next steps in coordination with BEI and SPAL “so as to not interfere with the investigations that are already underway.”
“I wish for all the light to be shed on the circumstances surrounding the triggering of the independent investigation,” the minister said.
The lawyers for the family of the teen welcomed the mayor’s request.
“We have read Ms. Bishop’s letter to the SPAL and are deeply shocked by its contents. We see it as a clear attempt by the SPAL to interfere with the BEI’s investigation in order to protect its colleagues, in blatant violation of the law and fundamental principles of justice,” said Fernando Belton, one of lawyers, in an email statement to CityNews.
“It is high time that such behavior be punished. The contempt shown by SPAL agents toward the BEI investigation cannot go unpunished,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Rezayi family filed a $2.2 million lawsuit against SPAL accusing the police of using of “unreasonable and disproportionate” force.
Video presented at a news conference by the family and their lawyers show Rezayi was shot within 10 seconds of police parking their police cruiser on the scene.
“They killed my child for nothing,” Fahima Rezayi, the boy’s mother, told reporters.
“Why was this officer in such a hurry to fire two bullets at Nooran without even taking the time to think? He didn’t even give him five seconds to lie down.”
The family has said that police waited more than five hours to tell them about the shooting.
A Longueuil police officer involved in the shooting was placed on “indefinite sick leave.”
Fournier said the sequence of events must be fully investigated. The police actions are already being investigated by the watchdog while Montreal police have launched a parallel criminal investigation in connection with the shooting.
“Trust in our institutions is at the heart of my political commitment,” Fournier said.
She called for transparency from the police watchdog in September and on Thursday, she said the same transparency must apply to Longueuil police.
“The sequence of events must be fully investigated to preserve the organization’s credibility and to identify the sources of any shortcomings,” Fournier said.
In a press release Thursday night, SPAL said that Bélanger had communicated the breaches in protocol to inform BEI to the mayor as soon as he became aware of them.
“(SPAL officers and employees) reiterate their full cooperation with the investigation conducted by the BEI, as well as with the investigation by the Minister of Public Security, if applicable,” the statement reads.
— With files from The Canadian Press
