Officers justified in fatal shooting of man with schizophrenia: police watchdog

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This article was published 31/01/2025 (219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man with a history of mental illness barricaded himself inside his home and attacked officers with an axe before dying in a hail of gunfire nearly one year ago, Manitoba’s police watchdog said in a report released Friday.

Details surrounding the fatal shooting of 59-year-old Bradley Singer were revealed via officer testimony included in the 23-page document, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba announced.

“It is my view that, in the full consideration of the circumstances of this tragic incident, the use of lethal force by the subject officers was authorized and justified by law,” acting civilian director Bruce M. Sychuk said.

“There are no reasonable grounds to support any charges.”

Investigators collected statements from 15 responding police officers, seven Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members and one civilian before coming to the decision, the IIU said.

A lawyer representing Singer’s family said questions remain.

“This doesn’t end the matter, this is just one report that recommends no charges,” Martin Glazer said.

“It may be closed in terms of that decision, but it’s not closed in terms of the answers the family is seeking.”

Glazer said more would be revealed in an upcoming inquest — the date of which remains pending.

In Manitoba, an inquest must be held when the chief medical examiner believes a death was caused by use of force from a police officer.

According to the IIU report, officers visited Singer’s Magnus Avenue home on the morning of Feb. 13, 2024.

They were there to apprehend Singer — a diagnosed schizophrenic — under the Mental Health Act. A community mental health worker indicated he was off his medication and had not been attending appointments, the report said.

The mental disorder is characterized by bouts of psychosis and a misperception of reality.

A summary of the incident, provided to investigators by the Winnipeg Police Service, said Singer met two officers at the door of his home with a crowbar and later discharged a fire extinguisher in their direction while locking himself inside.

Officers had previously apprehended Singer from the home on similar orders weeks before, and were aware of homemade barricades he had constructed at the property’s entryways. The officers called for support from the tactical unit, which arrived with an armoured vehicle used to break into the home, WPS said.

Glazer argued Singer’s prior interaction with officers and the significant police response agitated him further.

“There seems to have been insufficient de-escalation techniques employed in this particular case,” Glazer said. “When you have someone who is mentally ill and they see 15 police officers at their door, their paranoia is going to go way up.”

Police attempted to communicate with Singer who, according to testimony from several officers, said he “only wanted to talk to God.” Singer locked himself inside an upstairs room when officers breached the home, the report said.

“There were numerous television sets and security cameras on the walls of almost every room. Investigators noted yellow spray dust (believed to be the discharge from a fire extinguisher) that covered furniture and shelving,” the report said.

Officers eventually gained access to the upstairs room, at which point Singer approached them with the axe. Two officers fired their guns.

One of the officers said he was carrying a ballistic shield when Singer charged him and “raised the axe in the air towards me and my teammates in a chopping motion.”

“It all happened within seconds. In that moment, fearing for my life … I fired approximately one to three times. I then heard someone else discharging their weapon to my left side,” he told the IIU.

A second officer offered a similar statement, saying he “saw the axe handle hit the top of the shield” with the blade of the axe stopping near his partner’s head before he fired his weapon.

The report references autopsy results that said the rounds inflicted potentially fatal wounds to Singer’s torso and right arm.

Investigators were unable to recover video footage from the cameras in Singer’s home because they were not connected to recording devices, the report said.

Glazer criticized the police watchdog for not including testimony from experts on mental health response practices and de-escalation techniques in the document.

Singer’s family declined to comment on the report.

Last spring, Glazer hosted a news conference alongside lawyer Jean-Rene Dominique Kwilu calling for a joint inquest into the police shootings of Singer and University of Manitoba student Afolabi Stephen Opaso.

Opaso, 19, was killed Dec. 31, 2023, when police were responding to a mental health call.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (that province’s equivalent to the IIU) is handling the investigation into Opaso’s death due to a potential conflict of interest with one of the involved officers.

Kwilu told the Free Press Thursday that Opaso’s family has been provided no updates on the investigation.

Justice officials have not confirmed whether the inquests will be handled jointly, he said.

—with files from Erik Pindera

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca