Police watchdog clears Mountie in teen’s shooting death in Norway House

The province’s police watchdog says an RCMP officer acted reasonably in shooting a teenager moving towards him while holding a knife.

An image released by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba in its report on the incident Friday shows a 12-inch bread knife, with no sharp point and a serrated eight-inch blade.

Family members previously confirmed the teen was Elgyn Muskego, 17.

RCMP were sent to a home on Niska View in Kinosew Sipi Cree Nation, also known as Norway House, early on Nov. 22 after a family member called 911 to say Elgyn was high on pills and walking around the house holding a knife, with younger kids around.

Another family member later called to say the teen had tried to kill himself. Officers were already outside the home when the second call was made.

The Mountie who fired his weapon said in a statement to the IIU that after he pointed a pistol at the teen, Elgyn “locked eyes with him and slowly started walking towards him” while holding the knife.

The teen was halfway down a ramp when he began to sprint towards the Mountie, the officer told the IIU. He said he was yelling at Elgyn to stop the entire time and started walking backwards as the teen approached him.

The officer said he shot Elgyn twice. Another officer said he saw gunshot wounds to the teen’s chest and neck areas and that the entire incident happened in about 10 seconds.

Video reviewed by IIU investigators showed the teen, dressed in black, reaching into a pocket or his waistband for something, shuffling down a ramp towards the officers and then moving fast as he neared the bottom of the ramp. He had a large knife in his right hand as he passed by a police vehicle.

The autopsy noted the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds. The toxicology report noted a high dose of acetaminophen in the teen’s blood stream and a trace amount of cannabis, the IIU report said.

“Having reviewed all the evidence available in connection with the relevant case law, the civilian director is of the opinion the actions of the subject officer were reasonable, under these tragic circumstances,” IIU acting civilian director Bruce Sychuk wrote in the report. “Therefore, no charges are recommended, and the IIU investigation is now completed and closed.”

A relative of Elgyn told the Free Press the week of the shooting that his cousin, who was about five feet in height, was gentle and soft-spoken. He said the teen had been struggling with his mental health.

Kinosew Sipi is about 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca