Police watchdog probing Gatineau pursuit, shooting

Provincial investigators have been called in after a 37-year-old man was shot by a Gatineau police officer on Friday, sustaining life-threatening injuries.

The shooting occurred following a car pursuit involving Gatineau police that ended in a collision at the intersection of Maloney and Gréber boulevards.

According to preliminary information from Quebec's Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), the incident occurred around 3 p.m., when a fleeing vehicle ran a red light and collided with another vehicle.

When the police reached the scene, the man, armed with a knife, took a passenger hostage.

A police officer fired a service weapon, hitting the man, the initial BEI report said. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

At the time of the initial report, no more information was known about the man's condition or other details about the incident.

The BEI is an independent agency that conducts independent investigations in any case where a person other than a police officer on duty dies, is seriously injured or is injured by a firearm.

In a separate statement, Gatineau police said the incident took place following a collision between two civilian vehicles. No police officers were injured, but an unspecified number of people were taken to hospital for treatment of “nervous shocks.”

There was no further threat to the public, Gatineau police added.

In Quebec, when an event involving a police officer and a citizen and the citizen is seriously injured, injured by a firearm used by a police officer, or dies, the chief of police of the police force involved in the event must immediately notify the BEI.

Eight investigators have been assigned to probe the case. They were expected to arrive on scene around 9 p.m. Friday, the BEI said.

The Sûreté du Québec has been called on to act as a support police force in the investigation and is to provide a forensic identification technician and a collision reconstruction expert who will work under the supervision of BEI investigators.

To keep the area clear for the investigation, Maloney Boulevard was closed in both directions between l'Alliance Street and Gréber Boulevard.

Gréber was closed between de la Savane Street and de la Gappe Boulevard, and the entrance to the Costco store on Gréber was closed.

The BEI asked anyone who witnessed this event to contact investigators online at www.bei.gouv.qc.ca.