Jeremy Nuvviaq’s sister remembers her brother as someone who always wanted to help, whether by shovelling snow for neighbours or helping her out with chores.
Lillian Nuvviaq says her brother also took care of her and her siblings when their mother couldn’t.
"He helped so many people," she said in a phone interview from her home in Sanirajak, Nvt., almost 800 kilometres northwest of Iqaluit.
Nuvviaq was 39 when he was shot and killed by Sanirajak RCMP almost five years ago.
A coroner’s inquest into his death is to start Monday in the village of about 850 people. It’s to be held in the community hall and is set for five days.
In a news release issued at the time of the shooting, RCMP said they responded to a call late on May 1, 2017, about a man broadcasting on social media "wanting to die by police."
The release said the man threatened officers with a weapon when they arrived. RCMP said the officers tried to negotiate with the man but were unable to and shot him.
A Facebook profile under Nuvviaq’s name has a post dated May 1, 2017, that says, "I hope you watch this suicide by cop."
Lillian Nuvviaq said she didn’t expect to see her brother struggling to breathe when she got to the health centre late that night.
Nuvviaq died from his injuries the next day. He was the father of five children.
"After that, I struggled to sleep because I kept flashing back to how I saw him," his sister said.
She said she was working as a guard at the community’s RCMP detachment about a month before her brother died.
While at work, she mentioned to one of the officers that her brother might try to kill himself. The officer she spoke to was on vacation the night her brother was shot.
She said the inquest has taken too long to be scheduled axjmtzywfter years of grieving and, ultimately, healing.
"Once the court starts, it just brings it all back up again," she said.
But she doesn’t hold anything against the officer who shot her brother.
"They were trying to help for the safety of the community."
A jury of community members will have to determine if Nuvviaq’s death was a homicide, suicide, natural or accidental. Jurors must also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
Coroner’s inquests are mandatory in Nunavut when someone dies in police custody or while detained.
The Ottawa Police Service, which has an agreement with the Nunavut RCMP to investigate all serious actions involving police, was called in to investigate Nuvviaq’s death.
There were three fatal police shootings in Nunavut between December 2016 and May 2017, including Nuvviaq.
A 21-year-old man was shot and killed by RCMP in Rankin Inlet, Nvt., last November.
