Public inquiry into police shooting of Montreal teen to start Feb. 16
Inquiry to take place at high-security courthouse built for biker trials
The Quebec coroner's office says the hearings will take place at a north-end courthouse originally constructed to hear biker mega-trials.
The hearings to be presided over by Judge Robert Sansfaçon are aimed at exploring the causes and circumstances surrounding the death of Fredy Villanueva last Aug. 9.
Community groups in the Montreal North neighbourhood had been calling for the inquiry and Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis announced the hearings shortly before last month's Quebec election.
Villanueva was shot by police during a scuffle when officers tried to arrest his brother.
A melee ensued and Crown prosecutors later said no charges would be laid against the officer who fired the fatal shots because he acted with justified force when he feared for the life of himself and his partner.