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By Canadian Press

RCMP officer says she feared for her life before Nunavut man was shot

Oct 5, 2021 | 11:31 AM

GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut — One of two RCMP officers who confronted a 21-year old Inuk man the morning he was shot and killed by police in a remote Nunavut community says she feared for her life that day.

Cpl. Tanya Kellogg, testifying by video at a coroner’s inquest into Charles Qirngnirq’s death, said she had been working relief in Gjoa Haven for about a week.

Jurors at the inquest heard that Qirngnirq died after he was shot by an officer outside the airport on Dec. 19, 2016.

Kellogg said she and Const. Ian Crowe had responded to calls of a suicidal male with a rifle.

She said they made repeated calls for Qirngnirq to stop and drop the rifle, but he did not and Crowe shot him.

Crowe and members of Qirngnirq’s family are expected to testify later today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2021.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press