Montreal police didn't do enough to ensure safety of Inuk woman, says advocate

IfMontreal police had called MaggiePutuliklast Friday night to pick up an Inuk woman who had been detainedfor being intoxicated and disorderly, she would have taken her in without question.

As director ofan Inuit lodging facilitycalledUllivik which provides a link betweenhealth institutions in Montreal andNunavikPutuliksays she is there to help people in those kinds of situations.

But police didn't call. Instead they released the woman, MinaIquasiakAculiak,into an industrial area of Saint-Laurent at midnight.

Aculiak, who is from the remote northern town ofUmiujaqinNunavik, Que., speaks neither French nor English and was recovering from serious injuries.

After that, she wentmissing for almost a week, last seen by police on the Friday of her release and not found again until Thursday, Aug. 2nd, when she was located by an off-duty police officer who had seen her photo.

On Friday,Putulik told CBC Montreal'sDaybreakthat police should have taken steps to ensure Aculiak's safety, instead of sending her out into the night alone with only a bus pass.

"They should have gone a little bit further than releasing her, put a little bit more effort in finding out where this lady should have been brought to or who she was under the responsibility of," saidPutulik, adding that the woman was wearing a bracelet from the health centre where she had been staying.

Putulik said that releasing the woman to fend for herself could have opened her up to all kinds of dangerous situations.

"You're releasing a very vulnerable woman into an industrial area where she could have been kidnapped or taken advantage of," she said. "It's very scary to think about all that."

Woman hit by police car months ago

Before being taken into police custody,Aculiak had been staying at the Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montralrehabilitation centre inCte-des-Neiges.

She was recovering there fromserious injuries she sustained after beinghit by a police carin Umiujaq.

Despite criticism earlier this week from Indigenous advocates and Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante, a police spokesperson said the force did nothing wrong.

"We are police officers.We aren't doctors, we aren't paramedics," Insp.AndrDurocher told Radio-Canada Thursday evening.

"We transported the person who was violent and intoxicated. We drove her to our detention centre and when she sobered up, we had no more cause to detain her."

Putulik toldCBCthat all levels of the Montreal police department should be aware of the services available to vulnerable patients who come from rural communities to Montreal for treatment.

She said her organization, which is based in Dorval,hasworked hard to build relationships with local police officers, which has led to close collaboration when it comes to incidents involving Inuit people.

"The Station 5 police officers who work with us have become true partners," she said of the West Island station nearher organization and with which it works closely.

"[They] will go out of their way and will give our clients a ride in the dark, making sure that our clients return back toUllivik."

Putuliksays one good thing to have come ofAculiak'ssituation is that the sensitivity training she gave to the Station 5 officers will be provided to the entire police force as of September.

She says the city and an SPVM aboriginal liaison officer have signed on.

'Exceptional' measure

For its part, the health authority (CIUSSS) that oversees the rehabilitation centre whereAculiak was recoveringsaid it is highly "exceptional" that personnel from the centrewould call the police on one of its patients.

"We don't generally call the police," saidJean Nicolas Aub, spokesperson for theCIUSSSduCentre-Sud-de-l'le-de-Montral. "If we judge that she's not safe ... we'll call 911."

He said administrators are working with Montreal police to "find out what happened," seeing thatAculiak wasn't brought back to the rehabilitation centre after she sobered up.

"We never want these kinds of situations to happen," he said, adding that client safety is a priority.

Aculiakis scheduled to meet today with a liaison officer from the Montreal police.