A family trapped in the crossfire of a police shooting last year is demanding the police force of Montreal and the city, claiming that after the family patriarch and their son were run over by bullets, the officers handcuffed them and delayed medical treatment for almost an hour.
The Abdallah family filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Quebec on Monday. They ask for more than $ 6 million in damage to the pain and suffering that they say they experienced as a result of “negligent and reckless” actions of the Montreal Police during and after an exchange of shots with a suspect a year ago.
On August 4, 2024, Abdel-Rahman Abdallah, 18 at that time, was downloading the camp team of his car at the entrance of the family’s house in Dollard-Des-Oraux, a city on the west island of Montreal, when a man with a gun arrived.
The demand says that the man, Nackeal Hickey, who fled the police, threatened the family and asked for the keys of his vehicle. They arrived at the police officers who pursued; Hickey opened fire in the direction of the officers and a shooting occurred.
Abdel-Rahman and his father, Houssam, 52 at that time, were shot. The family says that Abdel-Rahman was beaten once near the spine and Houssam was hit six times while diving to protect his son and his daughter, who was also outside.
But the family says that Abdel-Rahman and Houssam lay on the ground injured No medical care for almost an hour.
“During this time, that seems to last an eternity, Abdel-Rahman, despite the pain he felt, spoke with his father Houssam about his pain, to see if he was alive and encourage him to remain aware,” says the demand.
Then, the officers handcuffed the two men “without the officers to provide them with the care they needed, while they were still on the ground, and without giving them any explanation of why they had been arrested,” according to the demand.
The men were finally taken to the hospital in separate ambulances, they say.
But from the shooting, the family says they have been living a nightmare. Houssam and Abdel-Rahman live with the effects of bullet wounds they suffered. Houssam underwent multiple surgeries and remains with scars and lacks feeling in his left leg. You need to take medications daily.
In a news Conference on Monday, the family detailed the suffering they have suffered from the shooting. Houssam, speaking in a microphone, became visibly emotional while recounted the feeling that the bullets were destroyed by this body.
“Who could have known that a camp weekend could have finished this way,” he said. “When I saw a bullet hitting my son, the decision to jump to protect my children was simple. I would do it again in an instant, despite the suffering that followed.”
His demand says that the police used excessive and negligent force when they fired approximately 40 shots in a residential area during their shooting with Hickey. They also say that the police could not act quickly enough to prevent Hickey from fleeing, weapons in his hand, towards the family.
They also claim that the police violated their rights when they arrested Houssam and Abdel-Rahman. They say that Abdel-Rahman was racially profiled when the police handcuffed him, assuming he was suspicious.
The other family members have also suffered psychologically from the shooting and request damage, says the demand.
The Office of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Crown of Quebec announced in June that it would not present charges against the Montreal Police officers in the case, after an investigation of the police surveillance agency of the province.
The prosecutors presented 15 criminal charges against Hickey, including four positions of murder attempt, illegal possession of a firearm, theft and violation of bail conditions.
Hickey was arrested in July in a separate case and accused of breaking and entering. He was released on bail when the police said he shot the officers and caused the shooting.
A spokesman for the city of Montreal said that the city will not comment on the case because it is now before the courts.
He Montréal Ville (SPVM) said he was cooperating with the authorities and said he was committed to complyingested With the law.
“We would also like to emphasize that the SPVM takes the accusations made against it very seriously and at all times respect the fundamental rights of all interested parties,” wrote a spvm spokesman in an email.
