Ex-Montreal cop sues ethics commissioner over 5-year case delay
Philippe Bertrand seeks $1.1M in damages, alleging the commissioner's slow ruling in the Nicholas Gibbs shooting cost him his career.
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A former Montreal police officer has sued the police ethics commissioner for $1.1 million, alleging that a five-year delay in deciding a complaint over a fatal shooting cost him his job and caused lasting psychological harm.
Philippe Bertrand filed the complaint June 2 at Montreal courthouse. He shot 23-year-old Nicholas Gibbs five times in August 2018 after police responded to a street fight.
Québec's independent police watchdog cleared Bertrand of wrongdoing in December 2021, and the ethics commissioner rejected the excessive-force complaint in May 2023—a gap of nearly two years after the watchdog's decision.
Bertrand alleges the delay—from the initial shooting in 2018 to the final ruling in 2023—left him in limbo, ultimately costing him his position and causing permanent harm.
Under Quebec's Police Act, the ethics commissioner is protected from civil liability for actions performed in good faith. Bertrand's lawsuit will test whether this immunity extends to cases involving significant procedural delay.