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In August it will be nine years since Fredy Villanueva was shot and killed by a police officer in a park in Montreal North.

It will also be four years since a friend of the Villanueva family lodged a private criminal complaint against that officer, Jean-Loup Lapointe, after the Crown decided in December 2008 not to lay charges. But the Court of Quebec has yet to decide whether that complaint should go forward.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Four years later, still no court decision on private Villanueva complaint against police Back to video

Frustrated by the wait, the friend, Alexandre Popovic, has submitted a motion for a writ of mandamus — meaning literally “we command” — urging the Quebec Superior Court to compel the lower court to make a decision.

“Forty-three months have passed since I submitted my private criminal complaint. I don’t know what is taking the Quebec Court so long to reach a decision,” said Popovic, who is also the head of the Coalition Against Police Repression and Abuse, in a statement released Thursday. “An injustice was committed when Fredy Villanueva was killed by the police. Another injustice is being committed when a court takes an eternity to accomplish what the law obliges it to do — to judge the merits of the private criminal complaint.”