The family of an NDG man who was shot and killed by Montreal police last August is launching a $1.1 million civil suit.
Nicholas Gibbs, a 23-year-old father of three, was killed following a confrontation with police on De Maisonneuve Blvd. near Montclair Ave. on the evening of Aug. 21, 2018.
Family members met the media on Tuesday, along with their lawyers, to make the announcement — and to make public a short cellphone video showing the final moments of the fateful altercation with police.
"This violence is part of the usually continuum of [police] intervention that all too often leads to the death of vulnerable, black, and individuals with mental health issues," law firm Arsenault, Dufresne and Wee — who are representing the family — said in a statement issued Tuesday.
In the final minute of the confrontation, police are heard showing at Gibbs, in French, to stay put, while Gibbs, who spoke only English, kept walking.
The video doesn't know any evidence of Gibbs threatening police with a knife, as police claim.
Police fired a total of five shots, with the final two shots coming as Gibbs had his back turned. Gibbs is seen falling to the ground after the fifth shot.
He was taken a short time later to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Quebec's Bureau of Independent Investigations (the BIE) is conducting its own investigation of the incident. Gibbs' mother, Erma, says she wants the officers involved to face charges.
"Whoever was involved in that shooting, I wonder how they drive every day — how they patrol the street — and they go to touch their gun, to know they took the life of an innocent black man," she added.
The family is seeking for $1,035,000 in moral damages from the suit, plus $100,000 in punitive damages.