Smyth hints at WPS public-information policy change after in-custody death

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/10/2023 (739 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s police chief claims a man who went into medical distress and died in custody was combative and resisted officers when they initially attempted to arrest him late Sunday night.

Chief Danny Smyth made the allegations in a post on Substack — an online publishing platform — while he responded to scrutiny of the officers’ actions.

“I am confident that the WPS members involved in this event were well trained, and will account for the actions they took, including the level of force used to control the situation,” Smyth wrote Thursday afternoon.

His comments were prompted by media reports that contained statements from witnesses and a one-minute video of a struggle at Broadway and Sherbrook Street.

The man who died was identified by his family as 37-year-old Elias Whitehead. He was from Webequie First Nation in northern Ontario.

His death is being probed by the civilian police watchdog Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba.

The IIU has said the man began to have trouble breathing during the arrest.

Neither the Winnipeg Police Service nor the IIU cited allegations of combativeness or resistance when the agencies provided limited information in separate press releases Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Neither statement mentioned the type of force that was used by police during the arrest.

In his post, Smyth said the public receives very little information from the WPS and IIU in such situations.

The WPS standard decision is to not provide additional comments to the media and to defer all inquiries to the IIU.

The decision was a mistake in this case, according to Smyth, who claims “it allowed others to take control of the narrative.”

The IIU meanwhile, usually doesn’t answer questions after issuing a news release that tends to be brief on specific details of an incident.

Smyth said officers responded to Sherbrook and Broadway after a woman called 911 shortly before 11 p.m.

A male allegedly jumped in front of her vehicle, began punching her window and attempted to enter the vehicle, according to the police chief.

“She indicated there was blood on her vehicle,” he wrote.

The post said a second caller was concerned about a male in traffic.

“This was the beginning of a call that was classified as a wellbeing check, which could involve anything from a person in mental health crisis to a person in a drug-induced psychosis to a person acting hysterical for unknown reasons,” Smyth wrote.

He claims the male was combative and acting erratically when he was located by officers, who “were met with resistance” when they tried to take him into custody.

“There was a struggle as officers used force to restrain and control the male,” Smyth wrote. “During the encounter the male went into medical distress. The WFPS was called to assist, and the male would later die in hospital.”

Alex Braun previously said he and a group of friends witnessed officers forcefully take a man to the ground and arrest him.

He said Thursday no one in the group witnessed any prior behaviour by Whitehead that he would consider to be violent or erratic.

Braun recorded the video which showed two officers struggling with a man lying face-down on Broadway.

The man could be seen moving while he was pinned to the ground. He was punched and kneed as the officers restrained him. Police cars soon arrived and blocked the camera’s view.

Describing the incident as “tragic and traumatic,” Smyth said he was not being critical of the witnesses who spoke to reporters.

His post said the witnesses “had no first-hand experience with police use of force encounters.”

Braun said the comment rubbed him the wrong way. He also questioned Smyth’s criticism of the media.

“I thought it was kind of ridiculous the way he talked about it as though journalistic objectivity would be only reporting what the police and IIU have to say,” said Braun.

Smyth said the “basic facts” that he cited in his post were given to the IIU after the incident, but were not shared with the public earlier in the week.

His post suggested the WPS’ approach could change in the future.

“The public can be informed about the context of an event without compromising the integrity of an investigation,” he wrote. “We owe it to the public to ensure the basic facts are available at the outset.”

In its news release, the IIU said Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members immediately provided care to the man, as they were already present due to an unrelated incident.

Smyth said the WPS will co-operate fully with the IIU investigation.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching