An independent investigation has finally been opened to clarify the circumstances surrounding a vast police operation carried out Tuesday in Terrebonne, where a fugitive wanted for violent crimes in the United States took his own life.
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According to our information, it was the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who asked the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) to launch the investigation.
Until now, few details had been revealed by the authorities concerning the operation where Simon Betser held the police in suspense before turning a weapon against him, in a house he rented on the rue de Foucault.
This is a special situation, because normally, the BEI can only investigate Quebec police forces, and not federal agencies, unless a request has been made to that effect.
The RCMP’s Tactical Intervention Group (GTI) had stormed into the family neighborhood to arrest him, while he was acting in support of the Canada Border Services Agency.
Wanted, armed and dangerous
Betser, 42, was wanted on a Canada-wide immigration warrant. He was also wanted by the Americans, had revealed The newspaper.
In 2019, the man of Ukrainian origin was arrested in Connecticut for having kidnapped an ex-girlfriend for two days with an accomplice. She had then suffered hell, having been the victim of attacks and threats, according to American media. She had finally managed to escape, and Betser had faced numerous charges. In addition, the previous year, the police had found a cache of weapons and ammunition in the same location.
In the accommodation he rented via the Airbnb platform, the police found several firearms, according to our information.
Wanted by US law enforcement, the suspect appeared to have resided in Canada for at least two years. In particular, he was fined $350 for a violation of the Highway Safety Code in June 2020.
– with the collaboration of Jonathan Tremblay