Quebec appeal court upholds ruling finding that police watchdog issued biased release
MONTREAL — The Quebec Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision which found that the family of a Montreal man killed by police was harmed when the province’s police watchdog issued a biased news release.
The family of Koray Kevin Celik sued the agency, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, arguing the news release harmed their honour and dignity and caused them psychological distress.
A provincial court judge ruled in the family’s favour in 2021 and awarded Celik’s parents and brothers a total of $30,000 in damages.
The provincial government appealed the decision, arguing the BEI, which investigates whenever someone other than an on-duty police officer is killed or seriously injured during a police operation, had done nothing wrong. Even if it had, the province contended, those faults hadn’t caused damages to the family.