SANIRAJAK, NVT. — The RCMP officer who shot and killed a Nunavut man told a coroner’s inquest Tuesday that the man aimed what appeared to be a real gun at him but it was later discovered to be a pellet gun.
Jeremy Nuvviaq, 39, was shot by Const. Stephen Currie on May 1, 2017, in Sanirajak after police received reports of a suicidal man with a gun.
Currie, who had worked in Sanirajak for two years, testified that two calls came in about Nuvviaq that night and police believed they came from the man himself.
The police also received a separate call that Nuvviaq was livestreaming on Facebook about wanting to die by police.
The inquest heard that Currie and fellow Const. Reg Campbell parked their truck near Nuvviaq’s home and watched his front door. They carried carbine rifles and wore body armour.
Currie testified that Nuvviaq came out of the house and waved around what looked like a gun, but didn’t point it at the officers.
"We noticed he was holding a long black gun … We knew it had a pistol grip on it, but we couldn’t say what kind of gun it was," Currie testified.
Currie said he was yelling at Nuvviaq to drop the gun and told him that police were there to help, but Nuvviaq did not respond.
Currie said Nuvviaq came out of his house a second time and started walking toward the officers before turning back. Campbell said he heard Nuvviaq yell, "Shoot me."
Nuvviaq raised what appeared to be a gun over his shoulder and aimed it in his direction, Currie said.
He testified he heard Nuvviaq say, "Stephen, I have you in my sights."
Currie said he feared for his life and fired a single shot at Nuvviaq’s torso. He died later at the health centre.
Campbell told the inquest that when the officers recovered the weapon, they realized it was a pellet gun.
Witnesses who testified Monday said they saw Nuvviaq holding a toy gun underneath a towel on his livestream. Campbell said the officers found a toy gun in the home, but it was not the gun Nuvvixjmtzywaq pointed at police.
Currie told the inquest he did not remember receiving any suicide prevention training or specific training related to Nunavut before he came to Sanirajak.
Kristy Williams, a mental-health worker in Sanirajak in 2017, testified that more housing is needed to improve mental well-being in the community. The inquest heard that Nuvviaq lived in a home with nine people and that he and his partner were applying to get their own home.
"We need a lot of housing … It’s very trying when people live on top of each other," Williams said.
She and the RCMP now work together on calls about people who might be suicidal, she said.
