Another police intervention in Brome-Missisquoi resulted in a shot being fired in the direction of a civilian on Thursday.
As it involves a police officer from the Sûreté du Québec, the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) took charge of the investigation.
This time it was a 19-year-old boy who was shot.
The event that occurred on the Brome-Missisquoi campus in Cowansville was a suicide attempt by police officers.
An analysis of independent investigation reports from 2006 to 2010 found that 12 of the 47 people who had been shot by a police officer were seeking suicide.
A high proportion of these people had mental health issues.
Ten years later, these events are no longer as anecdotal as they were then.
The most recent example is that of the 19-year-old young man who was shot by the police last night in Cowansville.
The suspect, armed with a compressed air handgun, refused to obey the orders of the police, one of the patrol officers he was heading towards fired, hitting him in the leg.
Sources confirm that the victim had left his relatives a letter testifying to his suicidal intentions.
For several years now, the police have been better equipped to deal with this type of situation.
Depending on the behavior of the suspect and the weapon he is showing, the police will do everything to begin to de-escalate the situation.
But on other occasions, unfortunately, the imminent threat will lead to the use of necessary force.
This story is reminiscent of that of Riley Fairholm which occurred in July 2018 in Lac-Brome. The 17 year old young man died, hit by a projectile in the head during a similar police intervention.
Last May, coroner Géhane Kamel held a public inquiry to shed light on the causes and circumstances of the tragedy; it will make recommendations as needed.
Fortunately, the events of last night did not have the same tragic end. It is now up to the BEI to determine whether the police officer acted in accordance with what he was taught.