Inquest judge recommends Winnipeg police improve training, dog handling, policies

A Manitoba inquest judge has made 14 recommendations stemming from the fatal shooting by police of a 22-year-old man in the Maples six years ago.

Provincial court Judge Anne Krahn concluded the officer was justified when he fired at Winnipeg resident Stewart Andrews, a member of God’s Lake First Nation, on April 18, 2020.

The Winnipeg Police Service constable shot Andrews as he swung a metal bar at the officer’s head. The constable, his partner and a police dog were trying to detain Andrews in the lane behind Pipeline Road, after an armed robbery.

The 14 recommendations largely focus on improving Winnipeg police training, policies and education, and making the inquest process easier for the families of those whose deaths are under review.

“The loss of Mr. Andrews in this scenario is undeniably tragic and traumatic for his family and community,” wrote Krahn.

“My hope is that some of the recommendations in this report are improvements and small steps to re-build the loss of trust that results from the circumstances in this death.”

The incident began when a resident, who was taking out the garbage on Adsum Drive around 4 a.m., was confronted by two males who demanding cash, said Krahn.

One of the men had what appeared to be a firearm and the other had a shovel. The resident got away and called police, but not before he was hit with the shovel. A short time later, a woman in a nearby apartment called 911 after her windows were smashed.

Officers found Andrews and a teenage boy walking in the lane and believed they were the suspects.

One of the officers had a leashed police dog and a flashlight, while the other had his gun out. The officer with the dog shouted for the suspects to stop, but the teenager ran off.

Andrews stayed and raised the three-foot metal pole as if it were a baseball bat as police approached and told him to drop the bar, Krahn said.

The dog handler tried to send the dog to apprehend Andrews, but pulled the dog back after Andrews swung the bar at the dog’s head, said Krahn.

He told the inquest he pulled the dog back to stop it from biting Andrews, so they could take him into custody with the least amount of force.

Andrews then turned his attention to the other officer, with the bar “raised over his head in a baseball style swing,” Krahn found.

The officer shot Andrews five times.

Krahn found the forensic and autopsy evidence was consistent with the officers’ accounts of what happened.

Lawyers for the Andrews family argued the police shot him to protect the dog, but Krahn concluded that scenario was inconsistent with the evidence.

The judge recommended the police service improve training and policies in relation to police dogs, update its use-of-force policy in several areas, evaluate its use of de-escalation, and work with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak to examine its use-of-force training with an Indigenous lens. MKO, which represents many northern Manitoba First Nations including God’s Lake, participated in the inquest.

She recommended Winnipeg police continue to implement body-worn cameras for officers and work with Indigenous leaders, potentially MKO, to offer an education program for young Indigenous people who may interact with police.

Andrews was one of three Indigenous people shot by Winnipeg police officers in a 10-day period, a context that “feeds a well-documented lack of trust between Indigenous peoples and police,” noted Krahn.

She recommended families be given support and resources during the inquest process, including potential funding from the province for immediate family members who must travel to attend the proceedings, and that the chief provincial judge contact the family of the deceased and share inquest reports with them before the document is made public.

Krahn also said the Manitoba government should work with the chief provincial judge to reduce the significant delay in holding inquests, and that the courts ought to make information about the status of inquests more publicly accessible online.

Martin Pollock, a lawyer for the Andrews family at the inquest and in the ongoing lawsuit over the shooting, said the family does not agree with the judge’s findings and is disappointed.

Speaking with the Free Press, Pollock argued, as he did at the inquest, that a fearful Andrews was defending himself from the dog at the time he was shot, rather than moving to attack the officer.

“There was nothing given to the perspective of the young man during that period of time, of being confronted by that dog,” said Pollock of the judge’s findings.

“(The family doesn’t) believe that he would have turned and weaponized against a police officer.”

He said many questions remain unanswered after the inquest. But, Pollock said, he thinks Krahn made diligently considered and “very positive” recommendations.

Inquests, which are mandated when a death involves police, are meant to offer recommendations that could prevent similar deaths.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca