Year after man shot, killed by police, family still waits for answers

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This article was published 30/12/2024 (286 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One year after Winnipeg police shot and killed a Nigerian university student, his family says they are still looking for answers.

The family of Afolabi Stephen Opaso, 19, who died Dec. 31, 2023, say they’ve received little information from police or the oversight agency tasked with investigating the man’s death.

“Our family deserves transparency, accountability, and above all we need justice,” Yemisi Opaso, Afolabi’s older sister, said on Zoom from her home in Texas during a news conference Monday.

“The delay in the investigation has only compounded our grief, leaving us feeling as though Afolabi’s life and death are being treated with indifference.”

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team started the independent investigation on Jan. 10 after Manitoba’s police watchdog transferred the case due to a conflict of interest, with one of the officers involved being connected to a provincial justice employee.

The Alberta agency told family in March a report on its findings was “imminent,” Opaso said. That report has still not been released, nor has an autopsy report, which was promised by the end of the year, she said.

Opaso said she’s called investigators for updates sometimes twice a week. She never receives any, she said.

The Alberta police watchdog did not respond to requests about the status of the investigation by deadline.

Going a year without answers is unreasonable, Jean-Rene Dominique Kwilu, one of two lawyers representing the Opaso family, said.

“For any family, after a year, and not having the answers, not knowing what’s going on, can be really trying and difficult for them,” he said.

The report is crucial for holding police accountable, making meaningful change and keeping communities safe, Benjamin Nkana Bassi, another lawyer representing the family, said.

“Our systems are not being checked out, so we don’t know where we have flaws. We don’t know where to improve,” Bassi said.

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The family is considering filing a civil negligence claim against the Winnipeg Police Service depending on the outcome of the report, Bassi said.

Police responded to a call at 77 University Cres., last New Year’s Eve of a man acting erratically. Two officers went to the apartment and found a man wielding two knives inside a suite, former WPS chief Danny Smyth said after the incident.

The police officers said “drop the knife” three times before firing three shots, according to a 26-second audio recording previously released by the family’s lawyer and reviewed by the Free Press.

Opaso was taken to hospital and later died from his injuries.

Opaso was an international student studying economics at the U of M.