A video showing an Inuit child in crisis and forcibly transported by the police caused a stir on social networks in the last week.
In this excerpt filmed and posted on Facebook by his mother on April 15, a boy is taken by the feet and arms by two police officers, accompanied by a social worker from the village of Nunavik where he is, and is then taken barefoot outside in a vehicle.
On her Facebook account, the mother of the child, whose name or place of residence will not be disclosed to preserve her anonymity, explains that she did not flinch. “I stayed calm because I didn’t want to be arrested,” she wrote, calling the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) a “twisted system” in the same breath.
The one-minute video, which gives no details of what preceded the police action, has been shared more than 2,000 times and has drawn a lot of derogatory comments from the public. “The DPJ is the new boarding school,” wrote one person. They are “the government kidnappers,” wrote another. Several lamented the way the child was forcibly removed and seemed to find that other more appropriate methods could have been used.
Joined by The duty, the mother declined to comment. However, she initially told CTV that she was with her son at a relative’s home, after going two months without seeing him. The Inuit woman evokes a misunderstanding between her and the DPJ, whom she claims to have informed of the existence of this meeting with her son.
Not a “usual procedure”
The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (RRSSSN) indicated to the To have to that what this video shows “is in no way a usual procedure” of the DPJ. “Nevertheless, in rare circumstances where all possible approaches have been tried unsuccessfully, police support may be requested. »
Before arriving at a police intervention, a “very wide” range of methods were undertaken and the agreement of the supervisors of the DPJ was given. “Decisions that go in this direction are extremely rare,” we insisted.
The Nunavik police chief, Jean-Pierre Larose, indicated that this kind of joint intervention by the police and the DPJ is not “rare in Nunavik”. “It’s not frequent, but that, yes, it happens,” he said. He explains that it is the DYP who assesses whether a police presence is necessary and then makes the request. In the case of this child, “his safety was compromised,” assured Mr. Larose. “We did the best we could under the circumstances. »
The boy’s mother has several criminal records since 2010. We are mainly talking about impaired driving, refusing to stop and obstructing a peace officer. She was also charged with threats, assault and mischief to property. She combines the sentences of probation and community service; she also recently received a house arrest for a few months.
With Jessica Nadeau