RCMP officer who shot Sanirajak man tells inquest he feared for his life

The RCMP officer who shot Jeremy Nuvviaq in Sanirajak, Nunavut, told a coroner's inquest Tuesday he "feared for [his] life" when he fired his gun.

Nuvviaq died at age 39 in May of 2017. The inquest into his death began Monday.

RCMP Const. Stephen Currie said he received a call from Iqaluit dispatch at 11:40 p.m. on May 1, 2017, saying they had received calls that "Jeremy Nuvviaq has a gun and he doesn't care." 

Currie and Const. Reg Campbell put on their hard body armour and each took a carbine rifle to head over to Nuvviaq's house. 

Currie also spoke with a former co-worker of Nuvviaq's, who called the Sanirajak detachment to tell them about a video he was streaming on his Facebook page, and to warn them Nuvviaq was holding what he could see was a toy gun. 

Nuvviaq streamed a 22-minute Facebook Live video during this time where he said he wanted to die at the hands of the police. 

Neither of the officers watched the video while responding to the incident. 

Currie testified that while on the phone, he was told there was a gun under a towel that had yellow on it. 

When Currie and Campbell arrived at Nuvviaq's house, both officers got out of the truck and stood behind the open truck doors. 

Nuvviaq came out waving what they described as a black rifle-like weapon in the air. Currie said he yelled at Nuvviaq that he was there to help him and to put the weapon down. 

Nuvviaq went back into his house for about two minutes before coming outside again. 

Currie said Nuvviaq started approaching the truck and both officers yelled at him to stop and drop the gun. He walked back to the house, but at the bottom of the stairs, he pointed the gun as if he was going to take a shot and said: "Stephen, I have you in sight," said Currie. 

Currie then shot Nuvviaq, hitting him in the chest. 

A controversial symbol

Currie said he wasn't able to tell Nuvviaq's weapon wasn't real from where he was standing — about 50 meters away.

He said he didn't know it was a pellet gun until he took it to secure it in the front seat of the police truck along with his carbine. A yellow toy gun was also found later in Nuvviaq's house.

Currie handcuffed Nuvviaq while he was on the ground, while Campbell checked to see if anyone else was in the house. 

The officers took Nuvviaq to the health centre, where the nurses on call were assisted by an emergency room doctor over the phone from Iqaluit. 

Currie said Nuvviaq was struggling with the nurses and the officers had to hold him down so they could treat him. 

The officers assisted the nurses while they performed CPR on Nuvviaq, but he was declared dead at 1:40 a.m.

A thin blue line patch was visible on one of the pockets of Currie's uniform while he answered questions at the inquest. 

The patch — with a black and white Canada flag with a blue line through it — is a controversial symbol that's been banned by RCMP and some municipal police forces. Some view the symbol as separating police from the people they serve, while others see it as a symbol of support for police officers, and those who've lost their lives in the line of duty. 

In an email, the  Nunavut RCMP said the patch is "not a symbol the RCMP endorses."

"The RCMP understands the importance of demonstrating unity and showing support amongst colleagues however, the organization is committed to continue to demonstrate professionalism, consistency and maintaining public trust," the email read.

'A tragedy'

An agreed statement of facts given to the jury at the start of the day showed Nuvviaq had a history of suicidal thoughts and had previously made verbal threats and once attempted to assault a police officer. 

Several witnesses testified Nuvviaq would act differently when he was intoxicated. 

Nuvviaq's stepdaughter, Leslie Morgan, told CBC he became depressed when he was drinking. 

Nuvviaq was in a relationship with Morgan's mother, Vitaline Morgan, for several years. Leslie Morgan said they all lived together and remembered Nuvviaq would often cook for the family and they would all eat together. 

"He would ask us questions [like], 'How was school? How was work?' The relationship was very good," said Morgan. 

Morgan said Nuvviaq taught her valuable lessons, and was a good grandfather to his grandkids. 

She was 20 when Nuvviaq was killed but was away working for Baffinland when it happened. 

Morgan said his death was a tragedy.