Officers acted appropriately in fatal domestic dispute shooting, inquest judge concludes

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This article was published 12/03/2025 (228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two police officers who shot and killed Jason Collins in April 2020 during a domestic dispute were responding appropriately, a provincial judge has reaffirmed.

Judge Antonio Cellitti made no recommendations during a provincial inquest after Winnipeg Police Services officers shot 36-year-old Collins when they were called to a home at 371 Anderson Ave. on April 9.

“I have not identified anything that the officers in this case could have done differently that would have prevented (his) death or changed the outcome that day,” Cellitti wrote in a report released Tuesday.

Police were called to the home at about 4:30 a.m. and, upon arriving, heard a woman screaming from within the home. After breaching the front door, police found Collins with what appeared to be a pistol pointed to his head.

Before officers could establish communication with Collins, he pointed the pistol at and walked toward them. They opened fire and struck him in the torso and left hand.

The weapon was later identified as a replica BB gun designed to look like a handgun.

Collins’ death sparked a probe by the Independent Investigation Unit, which cleared the officers of wrongdoing in 2021.

A provincial inquest, mandatory following a lethal shooting, was later conducted over four days last August and September.

The inquest heard officers believed the Winnipeg Police Service use-of-force policy allowed them to use lethal force against the father of two.

“Mr. Collins’ actions left them with no option other than to use lethal force by discharging their firearms. The tragic outcome that day was unfortunately unavoidable given the actions of Mr. Collins,” Cellitti wrote.

The judge’s final report detailed the WPS policy, which dictates a use of force is necessary in certain circumstances, including to stop dangerous and unlawful behaviour, protect police officers or another person from injury, protect a person from self-injury, overcome resistance to a lawful arrest, prevent the escape of a suspect or prevent the destruction of evidence or property.

The use of weapons such as a stun gun, pepper spray or baton were not viable options as they would have required officers to be in close proximity to Collins, which the officers believed would have put them in danger, Cellitti wrote.

Officers at the inquest testified the woman who called 911 told WPS communications centre staff Collins had a firearm, but when Collins spoke with staff he repeatedly told them he did not have a weapon on him.

Collins was one of three Indigenous people shot to death by WPS officers in the span of 10 days in April 2020, the others being Eishia Hudson, 16, and Stewart Kevin Andrews, 22. Hudson and Collins were killed within a 12-hour span on the evening of April 8 and the early morning hours of April 9.

In January 2021 the IIU recommended no charges be laid against the officers who shot Hudson. In December that year the police watchdog, again, declined to recommend charges against officers who shot Andrews.

Provincial inquests into the deaths of Hudson and Andrews have not taken place yet.

In the IIU’s final report, former director Zane Tessler lamented the existence of replica BB guns that are manufactured to look like firearms, saying their presence during police encounters increases the risk of fatal outcomes.

“I continue to question the social relevance, and practical purpose for the manufacturing, importation, sales and possession of replica firearms. In fact, in my view, I cannot find a single redeeming factor for the possession of a replica firearm,” he wrote.

“More needs to be done with the existence and possession of replica firearms to properly and adequately deal with this issue.”

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca