Former Montreal officer cleared in Nicholas Gibbs killing suing ethics commissioner
Posted June 11, 2026 12:29 pm.
A former Montreal police officer cleared of wrongdoing after he killed a Black man while on duty is suing the police ethics commissioner for $1.1 million.
Philippe Bertrand alleges in a complaint filed June 2 at the Montreal courthouse that the commissioner’s five-year delay in rendering its decision on the killing cost him his job and caused permanent psychological harm.
Bertrand shot 23-year-old Nicholas Gibbs five times in August 2018 after police were called about a fight between two men on the street.
Quebec’s independent police watchdog investigated the shooting and the police ethics commissioner received a complaint accusing Bertrand of using excessive force.
The watchdog cleared Bertrand of wrongdoing in December 2021 and the ethics commissioner rejected the complaint in May 2023.
Under Quebec’s Police Act, the ethics commissioner is protected from civil liability for actions performed in good faith.
