A Mi'kmaq Man Was Reportedly Shot & Killed By New Brunswick RCMP
Another Indigenous life lost. Rodney Levi has been identified as the Mi'kmaq man reportedly shot and killed by New Brunswick RCMP. Independent investigators from Quebec have gone to look into what happened.
On June 12, an RCMP officer shot and killed a man near Miramichi, New Brunswick.
Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation Chief Bill Ward told the CBC that the man was a member of his community.
According to CTV News, family and friends have identified him as Rodney Levi who was the father of a young girl. Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, also confirmed Levi's identity in a tweet.
Investigators say he was 48 years old.
The RCMP has requested the assistance of Quebec's police watchdog group to investigate the circumstances around the fatal shooting.
Eight Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) investigators have been assigned to this incident.
Preliminary information that was given to BEI said that at around 8:00 p.m. AT, RCMP officers were informed of a "disturbed person" who was possibly armed with a knife in the area of Miramichi.
Police reportedly tracked the person into a building.
Then an officer allegedly used an electric pulse weapon multiple times "without success" before the person supposedly charged at the police with a knife.
One officer allegedly fired their gun.
The victim was then taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
BEI investigators will look to determine if this information is true.
The morning after Levi was killed, New Brunswick RCMP still hadn't released a statement or any information about the incident.
The BEI has also called on the Sûreté du Québec to provide two forensic identification technicians to work with the investigators.
Anyone who witnessed what happened is being asked to contact the BEI directly online.
Levi's death is the second time in just over a week that an Indigenous person has been killed by police in New Brunswick.
Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old woman from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in B.C., was fatally shot by Edmundston police during a wellness check on June 4.
The BEI is also investigating her death.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam has recently told his story about being assaulted by RCMP officers back in March.
In the newly released dashcam video of the incident, an officer is seen running in from off-camera, putting his arms around the Chief's neck and tackling him to the ground.
Another incident was also caught on video where an RCMP officer in Nunavut approached a man in a vehicle and opened the door which knocked him to the ground.