{{short description|Killing of an Indigenous Canadian woman in New Brunswick}} {{use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
On June 4, 2020, '''Chantel Moore''', an Indigenous Canadian woman, was shot and killed by Constable Jeremy Son<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Magee |first=Shane |date=June 7, 2021 |title=New Brunswick police officer who fatally shot Chantel Moore won't be charged |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/chantel-moore-no-charges-officer-shooting-police-1.6056025 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=CBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sweet |first=Jennifer |date=May 17, 2022 |title='Heavy day' for family of slain Chantel Moore as officer who shot her testifies at inquest |language=en |website=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/chantel-moore-jeremy-son-coroner-inquest-1.6456391 |access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref> of the Edmundston, New Brunswick police, who were called to perform a wellness check on her.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Quon |first1=Alexander |last2=Brown |first2=Silas |date=June 5, 2020 |title=B.C. First Nation wants immediate action in death of Chantel Moore in Edmundston, N.B. |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7029776/bc-first-nation-chantel-moore/ |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=Global News |language=en}}</ref> Moore's death drew national attention and outrage.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mercer |first1=Greg |last2=Fiddler |first2=Willow |last3=Walsh |first3=Marieke |date=June 5, 2020 |title=N.B. police shooting of Indigenous woman sparks outrage across Canada |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-nb-police-shooting-of-indigenous-woman-sparks-outrage-across-canada/ |access-date=2020-06-13}}</ref> However, New Brunswick's public prosecution service said it found Son's actions to be reasonable in the circumstances and he was not charged with any crime.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Cooke|first=Alex|date=June 7, 2021|title=No charges against New Brunswick police officer in death of Chantel Moore|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7927230/no-charges-against-new-brunswick-police-officer-in-death-of-chantel-moore/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Background == Moore was a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shakeri |first=Sima |date=2020-06-04 |title=New Brunswick Police Kill Indigenous Mom During 'Wellness Check' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/chantel-moore-police-shooting_ca_5ed99019c5b6aaebfd2b32f0 |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=Huffington Post Canada |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Awde |first=Savannah |date=2020-06-13 |title=Premier's comments 'insensitive' to Chantel Moore's memory: First Nation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal-premiers-comments-in/172399709/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=Telegraph-Journal |pages=A10}}</ref> and had recently moved to Edmundston to be closer to her mother and six-year-old daughter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brend |first=Yvette |date=June 4, 2020 |title=B.C. woman fatally shot during police wellness check just made fresh start to be with her child, family says |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tofino-port-alberni-woman-26-shot-new-brunswick-wellness-check-chantel-moore-1.5598653 |access-date= |website=CBC News}}</ref> The wellness check was asked for by Moore's boyfriend in Montreal, who was worried about Moore after she reported being harassed or someone possibly trying to break in to her home during a housewarming party.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Scott |date=June 4, 2020 |title=Port Alberni woman fatally shot by police in New Brunswick |url=https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/port-alberni-woman-fatally-shot-by-police-in-new-brunswick-1.24146953 |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=Times Colonist}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-06-13 |title=What happened the night Chantel Moore died? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal-what-happened-the-nigh/172399960/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=Telegraph-Journal |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal-what-happened-the-nigh/172399960/ A1][https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal-chantel-moore-2/172400230/ A10]}}</ref>
== Incident == Moore opened the door to her residence holding a knife and walked towards the responding officer. When commands by the officer, in French,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mercer |first=Greg |date=July 6, 2021 |title=Police shot and killed Chantel Moore more than a year ago. What has changed for Indigenous people and the law since then? |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-police-shot-and-killed-chantel-moore-more-than-a-year-ago-what-has/ |access-date=2021-07-06 |website=The Globe and Mail |language=en-US}}</ref> to drop the knife were not followed, he fired four times, killing Moore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Alex |date=June 7, 2021 |title=No charges against New Brunswick police officer in death of Chantel Moore |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7927230/no-charges-against-new-brunswick-police-officer-in-death-of-chantel-moore/ |access-date=2021-06-15 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref> The officer was not equipped with a Taser.<ref name=":7" />
=== Public response === In response to the incident, attention was raised to the fact that Edmundston police officers do not wear body cameras;<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Magee|first=Shane|date=June 5, 2020|title=Federal ministers express outrage over N.B. shooting death of Chantel Moore|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/chantel-moore-police-shooting-investigation-1.5599715|access-date=|website=CBC News}}</ref> this is not unusual for police services in Canada<ref>{{cite news|last=Britneff|first=Beatrice|work=Global News|date=9 June 2020|title=Police body cameras in Canada: How common are they and do they reduce excessive force?|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7043597/police-use-body-cameras-canada/|access-date=13 October 2021|url-access=}}</ref> due to the cost of the devices<ref>{{cite news |last=Valiante |first=Giuseppe |date=February 10, 2019 |title=Montreal rules out body cameras for police, saying cost not worth results |work=CTV News |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/montreal-rules-out-body-cameras-for-police-saying-cost-not-worth-results/ |access-date=October 13, 2021 |via=}}</ref> and questions over their effectiveness.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 1, 2019 |title=Leading maker of body cams disputes Montreal police cost estimates |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-body-cameras-1.5001814 |access-date=October 13, 2019}}</ref> Moore's family questioned the decision of the Edmundston officer to not attempt using non-lethal force in the interaction, considering the shooting to have been excessive given the small stature of Moore and the fact that she was only armed with a knife.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2020-06-04 |title='This was racially motivated,' says grandmother of Tofino woman shot and killed by N.B. police |url=https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/this-was-racially-motivated-says-grandmother-of-tofino-woman-shot-and-killed-by-n-b-police-1.4969770 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605013312/https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/this-was-racially-motivated-says-grandmother-of-tofino-woman-shot-and-killed-by-n-b-police-1.4969770 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=CTV News Vancouver Island |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=June 8, 2020|title=N.B. police killing of Chantel Moore 'hard to understand,' says her great-uncle|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5603024/n-b-police-killing-of-chantel-moore-hard-to-understand-says-her-great-uncle-1.5603350|access-date=|website=CBC Radio}}</ref> Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller commented "I don't understand how someone dies during a wellness check."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rabson|first=Mia|date=June 5, 2020|title='It was a wellness check and someone died': N.B. police kill Indigenous woman, minister wants answers|work=National Post|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/minister-says-reckoning-on-police-violence-against-indigenous-people-needed-2|access-date=2020-06-06|language=en-CA}}</ref>
=== Investigation === As New Brunswick does not have its own police investigation service, Quebec's Bureau of Independent Investigations investigated the killing. This decision drew calls from Indigenous leaders for an independent public investigation into her death.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Denis|first=Jen St|date=2020-06-20|title=Call for independent inquiry repeated at vigil for Chantel Moore in Vancouver|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/call-for-independent-inquiry-repeated-at-vigil-for-chantel-moore-in-vancouver/|access-date=2020-06-22|website=British Columbia|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=June 6, 2020|title=First Nations chiefs in N.B. seek review of justice system after shooting death of Chantel Moore|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/first-nations-chiefs-seek-justice-system-review-moore-shooting-1.5601867|access-date=|website=CBC News}}</ref> Investigators concluded the report in December 2020, referring it to New Brunswick's public prosecution service to determine if charges should be laid. After reviewing the report and available evidence, the prosecution service determined that the officer's actions were "reasonable under the circumstances," finding that he was confined to a third-floor balcony and that she posed a "potential lethal threat approaching him quickly."<ref name=":5" /> The Criminal Code of Canada allows police officers to defend themselves and others with lethal force under certain circumstances.<ref name=":7" /> The independent report corroborated initial police allegations that Moore did not follow commands to drop the knife.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Witnesses heard the commands.<ref name=":7" /> The officer, a use of force instructor for the department, was not equipped with a Taser.<ref name=":7" />
A coroner's inquest made 20 recommendations for ways that law enforcement can better respond to police interventions. The Edmundston police department at the time of the incident only had one functioning Taser; their total was later increased to 4 and officers were "trained and equipped with pepper spray and a telescopic baton, as less lethal tools."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Laura |date=2022-08-19 |title=Some N.B. municipal police forces making changes after Chantel Moore inquest recommendations |url=https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/some-n-b-municipal-police-forces-making-changes-after-chantel-moore-inquest-recommendations-1.6034032 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819170907/https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/some-n-b-municipal-police-forces-making-changes-after-chantel-moore-inquest-recommendations-1.6034032 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=CTV News Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>
== Aftermath == Occurring just over a week after the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, an Indigenous-black woman, the shooting of Moore caused scrutiny to be raised over Canadian police's capability to de-escalate situations involving mental health crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cecco |first=Leyland |date=2020-06-05 |title=Canada police under scrutiny after two women die after encounters with officers |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/05/canada-police-under-scrutiny-after-two-women-die-after-encounters-with-officers |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gangdev |first=Srushti |date=June 6, 2020 |title=Police aren't well-trained for mental health and wellness checks, says Vancouver-based advocate |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7035236/vancouver-advocate-police-wellness-checks-chantel-moore/ |access-date=2020-06-06 |website=Global News |language=en}}</ref> Indigenous leaders, Moore's grandmother, and Minister Miller linked the killing to systemic racism of Indigenous people by Canadian police.<ref name="vice">{{Cite web|last1=Lamoureux|first1=Mack|last2=Zoledziowski|first2=Anya|date=2020-06-05|title=Indigenous Leaders Demand Investigation into Police Killing of Chantel Moore|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/indigenous-leaders-demand-investigation-into-police-killing-of-chantel-moore/|access-date=2020-06-05|publisher=Vice Media|language=en}}</ref> In the aftermath of the killing, the chiefs of a coalition of Maliseet First Nations called for an independent probe of the New Brunswick justice system to address systemic discrimination against Indigenous people.<ref name=":4" /> Rallies, protests, and healing walks were held across Canada to call for justice for Moore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKeen |first=Alex |date=2020-06-12 |title=Chantel Moore's death deserves 'same kind of reaction as George Floyd,' Indigenous leader says |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/12/chantel-moores-death-deserves-same-kind-of-reaction-as-george-floyd-indigenous-leader-says.html |access-date=2020-06-13 |website=The Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bogart |first1=Nicole |last2=Brown |first2=Laura |date=2020-06-13 |title=Healing walks in memory of Chantel Moore marred by second fatal police shooting in N.B. |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/healing-walks-in-memory-of-chantel-moore-marred-by-second-fatal-police-shooting-in-n-b-1.4983435 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614022322/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/healing-walks-in-memory-of-chantel-moore-marred-by-second-fatal-police-shooting-in-n-b-1.4983435 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |access-date=2020-06-19 |website=CTVNews |language=en}}</ref> The killing of Moore, coupled with another fatal police shooting eight days later, led to Premier Blaine Higgs deciding not to proceed with proposed legislation to increase the emergency powers of the police.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Poitras |first=Jacques |date=June 15, 2020 |title=Higgs scraps legislation to increase emergency powers of government and police |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/blaine-higgs-bill-police-power-emergency-1.5612774 |access-date= |website=CBC New Brunswick}}</ref> The investigation's findings were called a "stinging blow" by British Columbia's First Nations Leadership Council.<ref name=":7" /> Moore's family filed a lawsuit the following year alleging that the city provided inadequate training to law enforcement involved in wellness checks and accusing Son of negligence. The city and Son deny the allegations; the claims brought by Moore's family have not yet been proven in court.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Magee |first=Shane |date=February 23, 2023 |title=Edmundston, police officer say in lawsuit reply Chantel Moore caused her own death |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/chantel-moore-shooting-lawsuit-defence-1.6750728 |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref>
In 2023, New Brunswick reached an agreement with Nova Scotia to allow that province's Serious Incident Response Team to open an office in New Brunswick to act as a local police watchdog for incidents in the province.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Urquhart |first=Mia |date=February 8, 2023 |title=Independent police watchdog agency to open office in N.B. |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sirt-police-investigations-expands-1.6741830 |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref>
== See also ==
* Police brutality against Indigenous Canadians
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Canada}} {{Killings by law enforcement in Canada}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Chantel}} Category:Law enforcement controversies in Canada Category:2020 in New Brunswick Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Canada Category:First Nations history in New Brunswick Category:2020 crimes in Canada Category:June 2020 in Canada Category:Violence against Indigenous women in Canada Category:Deaths by firearm in New Brunswick Category:Police brutality in North America Category:Police misconduct in Canada Category:Police brutality in the 2020s Category:Deaths by person in Canada