MONTREAL – The family of a Quebec man killed by police in 2017 is calling on the province’s justice minister to order an independent investigation after the Crown declined to charge the officers involved.
Koray Kevin Celik’s parents issued their request today at a news conference, a day before a Montreal police ethics hearing for some of the officers involved in his death is set to begin.
On March 6, 2017, Celik’s parents called police to their home in western Montreal because they were worried he would drive while intoxicated.
Police tried to subdue Celik with force, and his parents say they witnessed officers repeatedly beat their son with their feet and knees before the unarmed man stopped breathing and was in cardiorespiratory arrest. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
A coroner’s inquest into Celik’s death found that officers “provoked” the violent altercation between them and Celik, and that they were unprepared when they showed up at the family home.
Celik’s parents — June Tyler and Cesur Celik — have previously asked Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette to reopen the case, but he has so far refused.
The family continues to denounce the investigation by the province’s police watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — and the decision by prosecutors not to lay charges. A Quebec court ruling sided with the family — that the watchdog had committed a fault by issuing a statement that only gave the police officers’ version of events. The ruling was upheld on appeal.
The Celiks were joined at the news conference by their lawyers, a civil rights group and an anti-police-brutality organization.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
