‘I feared that I would be injured or worse’

A Winnipeg police officer testified Thursday that as he gripped his service weapon in one hand and the door handle of a stolen Jeep in the other, he was forced to jump out of the way when the vehicle began to reverse — which prompted his partner to fatally shoot the driver.

“I feared that I would be injured or worse,” Winnipeg Police Service Const. Serge Sylvestre told court on the fourth day of the inquest into the death of Eishia Hudson on April 8, 2020.

“It felt like it was moving back and towards me… If I were to stay there, I felt I was going to be dragged or hit.”

Hudson, 16, was fatally shot by Const. Kyle Pradinuk. The teenager from Berens River First Nation had just led police on a high-speed pursuit on Lagimodiere Boulevard that began after a liquor store was robbed by a group of teens in the nearby Sage Creek neighbourhood.

While fleeing from police at speeds of about 100 kilometres per hour during afternoon rush-hour traffic, the teen lost control of the SUV. It jumped the median and crashed into a truck.

Sylvestre and Pradinuk hadn’t been assigned to respond to the robbery, but learned about the pursuit from transmissions on the police radio. They headed for the intersection of Lagimodiere Boulevard and Fermor Avenue, hoping to halt traffic and deploy a tire-deflation device, he said.

Sylvestre was the first to arrive at the Jeep after it crashed into the truck. He said he sprinted there at the moment of the collision and unholstered his gun.

He hoped to remove Hudson from the driver’s seat and bring the chase to an end, but realized he had placed himself in a dangerous position when the vehicle began to move, he said.

“I jump back to create space and, almost simultaneously, I heard a gunshot and saw the driver’s-side window shatter,” he said.

Sylvestre said he could not tell whether the first bullet had struck the driver, but saw the vehicle come to a complete stop after Pradinuk fired a second time.

The timing of the second gunshot has been the subject of questions posed by Danielle Morrison, the lawyer for the Hudson family, throughout the inquest, which began Monday.

Sylvestre, Pradinuk and other officers have testified the Jeep was in a “forward motion” when that round was fired, but video played repeatedly in court appears to contradict their statements.

The footage, taken by a motorist who was stopped near the intersection, shows the Jeep swerving as it speeds northbound on Lagimodiere Boulevard. It jumps the median into the southbound lanes and then crosses back northbound, colliding with the truck.

“It felt like it was moving back and towards me… If I were to stay there, I felt I was going to be dragged or hit.”

Sylvestre and Pradinuk are both seen running to the Jeep. The first shot is fired when Slyvestre arrives and the vehicle starts reversing. The Jeep backs up on the median and comes to a stop as the second shot rings out.

“Looking at that video, during the moments when the shots are fired and as (the Jeep) even slows down, it appears to be in reverse,” Morrison said.

While reviewing the video, Sylvestre acknowledged the reverse lights were on, but said there was no way for him to see that at the time because he was near the front of the vehicle.

“This was very quick. It was actually quite scary, too. Once I composed myself… what I see is the vehicle kind of leaning forward. That’s how I remember it,” Sylvestre said.

Const. Ian Carnegie, who also testified Thursday, said he arrived at the scene immediately after the shooting and pulled his cruiser up to the rear of the Jeep. He said he could see the reverse lights on and wanted to box in the vehicle.

He told Judge Margaret Wiebe that the vehicle was “rocking back and forth,” possibly because it had bumped up onto the median.

Pradniuk has told court he saw the vehicle “lurch forward” and believed Hudson was trying to shift the vehicle into gear. He would not have fired a second shot otherwise, he said.

It is unclear which of the bullets struck Hudson, but an autopsy revealed the fatal shot entered her shoulder and ended up in her spine.

Carnegie said he pulled Hudson out of the vehicle by her arm and put her in handcuffs, leaving her face down on the ground.

“She was conscious and breathing at that point,” he said.

“I jump back to create space and, almost simultaneously, I heard a gunshot and saw the driver’s-side window shatter.”

He noticed she had a bloody nose and immediately called for an ambulance, but said he did not realize shots had been fired until Pradinuk came over and told him.

Carnegie watched as Pradinuk cut open Hudson’s shirt and identified a bullet wound, then began to administer CPR to her.

He said he moved his police cruiser to create privacy as emergency care continued, then he went to find where Pradinuk’s bullet casings had fallen and marked their locations for investigators.

The inquest must determine whether the use of force against Hudson was justified and whether systemic racism played a role in her death. Inquests don’t assign blame, but Wiebe can issue recommendations to help prevent similar deaths.

Four of the officers who have testified said they would like the police service to introduce full-time air support. Court has heard the police helicopter was not in service when the pursuit began, but may have prevented the need to chase the Jeep on the ground.

The inquest will resume Monday, with testimony from people who were with the teenager on the day she died.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca