Inquiry into death of Île Bizard man questions what paramedics were told about police actions

A coroner's inquest into the death of Koray Celik is trying to determine what first responders were told about the circumstances that led to the 28-year-old needing medical attention.

An automatic recording captured the moment firefighters, acting as medical emergency responders, arrived on the scene at the Celik home in Île Bizard at around 2:49 a.m. on the night of March 6, 2017. 

A man's voice can be heard on the recording, saying that Celik had a history with drugs and appeared to be having an overdose. 

The person makes no mention of the fact that Celik had been wrestled to the ground, restrained by four police officers and struck several times before entering respiratory distress.

Celik's parents have maintained that officers used excessive force on their son. They say they watched as he was kicked, choked and beaten with batons by the police until he stopped breathing.

The Celiks have refused to participate in the inquiry, saying they have lost faith in a process that seems to protect police. 

Voice on recording unidentified

Alexandre Popovic — representing an anti-police-brutality organization, the Coalition contre la répression et les abus policiers — raised the question of who was speaking on the recording during a cross-examination Wednesday.

Jérôme Brassard, the fourth and final police officer who responded to the call, was testifying. 

Popovic asked if Brassard could identify the voice on the recording.

Brassard said it wasn't his, but he could not say whose it was. Of the four police officers who responded to the initial phone call, three were men. 

Brassard said he struck Celik twice during the intervention: once with a baton, in the knees, as a diversionary strike. He said he also kneed Celik once and said Celik resisted being handcuffed.

Popovich asked if Celik appeared to be cognizant of the situation. Brassard said Celik hadn't responded to officers and that there appeared to be no room for co-operation. 

Brassard said he knew that Celik wasn't in a "normal state," as they were told he was intoxicated, aggressive and had insulted a 911 operator over the phone.

None of the four officers involved had had de-escalation training at the time of the intervention.

First responders arrive

Brassard said that after handcuffing Celik and turning him over, the officers noticed Celik had stopped struggling and had vomited. They realized he wasn't breathing.

The officers began performing CPR and using a defibrillator to try to resuscitate Celik, Brassard said. According to court documents, first responders from the fire station arrived about 13 minutes later.

Alexandre Pilon, one of those first responders and a firefighter, also testified Wednesday. He said they were told a person was in cardio-respiratory distress and saw the officers attempting resuscitation manoeuvres when he arrived.

He said there were cuts and blood on Celik's face but described them as superficial.

Pilon said he was only involved until paramedics reached the scene, about 11 minutes after he arrived.

More first responders, including Urgences-Santé paramedics, are expected to testify this afternoon.