Shooting victim’s charges dropped

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This article was published 20/02/2015 (4187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Justice officials have dropped all substantive criminal charges against a man who was shot and wounded by Manitoba RCMP officers — a move his lawyer says shows he was the victim of a major wrongdoing that remains shrouded in secrecy.

Evan Cromarty, 21, suffered serious injuries after being shot in the shoulder last July in Norway House. RCMP were trying to arrest him on a series of offences when they opened fire after he fled from his home and ran to a field that was hosting a youth baseball tournament.

Cromarty was unarmed at the time of the shooting, which was witnessed by several hundred people and partially captured on cellphone video.

Last week, the Crown abruptly dropped the bulk of the charges for which Cromarty was being sought that day: aggravated assault, break-and-enter and four counts of uttering threats. No explanation was provided to the court other than the Crown didn’t believe there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

“Mr. Cromarty is grateful that the criminal proceedings against him have ended. He has always maintained that he was not guilty of the allegations,” defence lawyer Jody Ostapiw told the Free Press on Thursday.

Cromarty did plead guilty to a pair of breach charges unrelated to the incident. He was sentenced to time already served with no further penalty.

“In a year where officer-involved shootings in the U.S. received so much media coverage, it is important for Manitobans to know that the same thing has happened here. This is not an American issue,” said Ostapiw.

“The shooting of an unarmed aboriginal man is extremely troubling. I am grateful that my client was not more seriously injured and that he has not been convicted of any crime arising out of that incident.”

Cromarty spent several days in hospital recovering from his injuries and continues to have “residual pain and limited mobility in his arm” as a result, his lawyer said.

“He is happy that he will be able to access physiotherapy and other resources that were not available to him in custody. He anxiously awaits the decision with respect to his shooting and has received no recent updates with respect to that investigation,” said Ostapiw.

Immediately after the shooting, Manitoba RCMP promised a hands-off approach to the investigation that will determine whether officers’ actions were justified.

Investigators from Alberta flew to Norway House to take over the formal probe into the incident. Five members of the 27-person Alberta Serious Incident Response Team are involved. The probe remains ongoing.

‘In a year where officer-involved shootings in the U.S. received so much media coverage, it is important for Manitobans to know that the same thing has happened here. This is not an American issue’ — lawyer Jody Ostapiw

“There is no rush. We do an objective, thorough and independent investigation,” spokeswoman Lynn Crawford previously the Free Press.

She couldn’t provide an expected timeline but said the findings would be forwarded to justice officials for review.

The Alberta team was brought in at the request of the provincial government, which is seeking an external investigation to avoid allegations of bias or a conflict of interest. The unit routinely investigates cases involving Alberta police agencies that result in serious injury or death, as well as those involving sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

Manitoba has no such unit but is in the process of developing one. Manitoba RCMP have declined to comment about the incident, deferring all inquiries to Alberta.

No details have been provided by RCMP about the officer who did the shooting, including his age or years of experience. He was placed on mandatory administrative leave following the incident.

Witnesses told the Free Press they heard an officer yell “freeze” and then fire when Cromarty raised his hands and kept walking backwards. Some believed they heard as many as four shots.

Cromarty is no stranger to the justice system. He had been released from custody only weeks before the shooting, vowing to turn his troubled life around.

Cromarty was sentenced in May 2014 to 18 months of time served in custody after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact and breaching a court order. More serious charges were dropped by the Crown.

Cromarty admitted to playing a role in a January 2012 shooting in Norway House in which a 23-year-old man and his three-year-old son were struck by gunfire inside their home. Both victims were innocent, unintended targets of a revenge plot that had been cooked up that night at a house party. They escaped with minor injuries.

Cromarty admitted being aware of the shooting plans but denied participating. Instead, he admitted helping two others dispose of a snowmobile the shooter used to go to the scene and open fire when the adult opened the front door.

The burned machine was later found by RCMP.

 

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