The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) has opened an investigation into the arrest of a woman who suffered spasms after being brutally removed from her vehicle last week in Salluit. A video of the intervention had made the rounds on social media.
“Following validations with the Nunavik Police Service, the BEI is taking charge of the investigation into the July 18 intervention in Salluit,” the organization confirmed earlier this week.
A video of the incident that went viral online showed a police officer pointing what appeared to be a gun at the driver of a vehicle that crashed into a residence.
The same officer then pulled the driver out of the vehicle through an open window, before dropping her to the ground.
Lying face down on the ground, the woman suddenly experiences spasms, while another policewoman handcuffs her hands. Unable to get up, the woman is dragged along the dirt for several meters, to a police car parked nearby.
The arrest followed a police pursuit with the driver, a 24-year-old woman suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, said the deputy director of administration of the Nunavik police service, Shaun Longstreet.
The BEI was unable to answer whether any officers involved in the arrest had been met or suspended by their employer.
“Given that this is an investigation of an allegation of a criminal nature and that it is still ongoing, the BEI will not issue any comment so as not to prejudice the investigation,” he continued by email.