By Canadian Press

Montreal man’s death demonstrates need for better police training, coroner says

Feb 16, 2022 | 10:35 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner says the fatal shooting by Montreal police of a man in distress highlights a lack of training for officers dealing with people in crisis.

Pierre Coriolan, 58, was shot three times in 2017 after police responded to a call about a man smashing things inside his apartment.

Coriolan was holding a knife and screwdriver, and when he did not obey instructions to drop them, police opened fire after first trying to subdue him with a stun gun and rubber bullets.

Coroner Luc Malouin says in a report released today that Coriolan’s death shows police training needs to be improved and kept up to date.

The coroner found the officers who confronted Coriolan followed the training they had at the time, but it did not incorporate the latest advice on dealing with people in crisis, and they were lacking key information — including the fact that Coriolan was alone in the apartment.

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Instead officers followed training typically used to subdue an active shooter.

Recommendations made to police, the provincial Public Security Department and the province’s police academy include mandatory training for police officers and supervisors on how to de-escalate situations involving people who are mentally ill or intoxicated.

In 2019, Quebec’s Crown concluded the officers who fired on Coriolan, who was Black, would not face charges after an investigation by the province’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press