Officers not responsible for woman’s injuries after Redwood Bridge jump, IIU says
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2023 (1144 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winnipeg police officers were not liable for a despondent woman’s serious injuries after she jumped from the Redwood Bridge in February, the province’s law enforcement oversight agency has concluded.
Police were called to the bridge just before 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 6, after a witness spotted the woman standing on the outer edge of the structure, seemingly preparing to jump, the Independent Investigation Unit’s director said in a final report released publicly Wednesday.
Officers arrived and tried to talk with her, but she let go and fell to the ice. Police went to the river and pulled her to the bank, the IIU said, and she was taken to Health Sciences Centre by paramedics for several fractures.
The IIU, which began investigating the same day, found that the woman had been smoking methamphetamine two days before and became delusional, resulting in her daughter calling for a police wellness check.
She was taken to hospital, where she was told that she could get a detoxification bed. Two days later, she walked toward a Magnus Avenue detox centre, but when she phoned, she was told the centre did not have a bed for her.
She told the IIU that as she was at the bridge, she decided to jump.
The woman told the IIU she heard two men say not to jump, but she was crying and talking to herself to convince herself to jump before she ultimately let go.
She also told IIU investigators that she did not know if she had interacted with police, and that she jumped off the bridge herself.
The IIU’s civilian director, Roxanne Gagne, called the incident tragic, but wrote that she was satisfied that police did not contribute to the woman’s injuries.
Gagne suggested officials could explore the feasibility of adding protective railings on the bridge to prevent people from climbing on to the structure, but noted such a suggestion is not within the watchdog’s mandate.
— Staff