Tayara said one Salluit resident lost his teeth in a recent altercation with an officer.

Parsa Kitisimik, a representative from Kuujjuaraapik, said there are similar concerns in that community.

“When there is police misconduct, who do we call?” she said.

Aileen MacKinnon, the chief of KRPF, said she is aware of reports of misconduct.

But there is an official process for Nunavimmiut to follow if they feel they have been mistreated in any way, she said.

“We take these events very seriously,” she said, adding that reports are always investigated. “Often, we’ll ask for assistance so we don’t investigate our own officers – for transparency reasons.”

“And we act quickly because it’s our top priority.”

Residents who feel like they’ve been treated unfairly by a police officer — typically in non-violent cases — can fill out a report that is forwarded to Quebec’s ethics commissioner, who then investigates the matter.

Information on how to file a report is posted in each village’s police station or its employment and training office, MacKinnon said,so residents have an alternative place to go if they are not comfortable approaching the officers stationed in their community.

In more serious cases, like when a citizen reports they were beaten by an officer, MacKinnon said Nunavimmiut should contact the KRPF head office directly.

From there, the matter is usually forwarded to the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force to investigate.

“I would suggest that people call me, anytime,” MacKinnon said. “I will take the information and we’ll go from there.”

People can also call any of the three police captains in the region, stationed in Puvirnituq, Salluit and Kuujjuaq.

In 2009, 19 complaints were filed to Quebec’s ethics commissioner and all were investigated, MacKinnon said. Of that number, 17 were“refused” or found unwarranted, while two are going through an arbitration process.

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