‘You could hear the boom and then the ruckus’

Terry Johnsen said he had been chatting with a woman and her partner at a homeless encampment next to the south bank of the Assiniboine River just before she was fatally hit by a police cruiser Monday night.

“They came racing down here, bat out of hell, and I guess they didn’t see her,” Johnsen, who lives in a tent in Fort Rouge Park in Osborne Village, told the Free Press Tuesday, after police held a news conference to announce the tragic incident. “You could hear the boom and then the ruckus.”

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba is probing the woman’s death because it involves police officers.

Winnipeg police said Tuesday two officers were returning a man to the camp at 295 River Ave., around 9:27 p.m. when the collision happened.

Officers gave emergency care to the woman, who was in her 30s, acting police chief Art Stannard said at the media briefing.

She was in critical condition when she was taken to the Health Sciences Centre, where she died.

“I can tell you they’re devastated,” Stannard said about the two officers who had been in the cruiser.

“It’s tragic. It’s tragic.”

The police watchdog said it was immediately notified.

“As the collision resulted in a fatality, the IIU has assumed responsibility for this investigation. IIU investigators were immediately deployed to the scene. A request for a civilian monitor will be made to the Manitoba Police Commission,” the watchdog said in a statement.

“They came racing down here, bat out of hell, and I guess they didn’t see her.”–Terry Johnsen

The IIU is asking witnesses or anyone with information or video related to the incident to call 1-844-667-6060.

Near the back of the park, a gravel road winds down a small hill to the riverbank where the encampment, which has ebbed and flowed in population for more than a year, is located. According to Johnsen, the access road that’s used by the Main Street Project community outreach van and police cars is where the collision occurred.

“(The couple) came by and we shot the s—- for a little bit and I was kind of tired so I told them I’d talk to them later… They walked up there, and 30 seconds later the cops come barrelling down and they ran her over and dragged her,” Johnsen said.

Several people who live at various city encampments identified the woman as “Tammy” and said she stayed at an encampment in Glengarry Park on D’Arcy Drive in Southwood. Andrew Desjarlais, who spent years on the street with the woman killed and was a father figure to her, identified her as Tammy Bateman late Tuesday.

Johnsen claimed police officers had dropped off the man at the nearby River Avenue Quickie Mart and then drove through the park to the camp.

A police spokesperson could not say whether the man who was being dropped off was still in the vehicle when the woman was hit.

Stannard said the police service feels terrible for the woman’s family.

“On behalf of the whole membership of the Winnipeg Police Service, I want to offer my condolences and thoughts to the family, her friends, her community, and her family and friends at the encampment,” he said.

“I know this is a very heartbreaking, emotional, difficult time for the family. They’re looking for answers.”

“This situation speaks to the importance of housing for our unsheltered relatives.”–Jason Whitford, End Homelessness Winnipeg

On Tuesday, Main Street Project outreach staff were at the site to offer support and deliver supplies to encampment residents.

End Homelessness Winnipeg said the tragedy strikes at the heart of the close-knit community.

“This situation speaks to the importance of housing for our unsheltered relatives, as they are among the most at risk in Winnipeg to be the victim of crimes, most likely to face tragedies,” executive director Jason Whitford said in an emailed statement.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, who represents the area, said she has more questions than answers and is concerned the incident happened at a park that is used by families who have small children.

The park, which was built in 1893, has two walking paths, a playground and a splash pad.

“I think ward residents are going to be really concerned that a park that typically children play in, that someone was hurt,” Rollins said. “It could have been a child.”

Rollins questioned why the pedestrian path was being used as road.

“You don’t expect cars to be there,” she said.

Stannard said there is no specific policy on officers driving off-road to go to a homeless camp.

Johnsen said police use the path to check on the encampment multiple times per day. He claimed the visits are often hostile.

“They check names and then take away the people, and that’s it. They ask when are we going to be moving out but they don’t give you any options,” he said.

“They don’t help. I thought they were supposed to be working for us — serve and protect? They’re not in my eyes.”

Rollins said she will continue to work with organizations to connect the homeless to shelters because “encampments should not be the only alternative for people.”

“It is an everyday job of mine to be… making sure that we have the housing that Winnipeg needs,” she said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca