The Inquest Files
Under Canadian law, officers must believe their own life, or that of another, is fundamentally at risk — or at risk of “grievous bodily harm” — to use lethal force.
That scenario has played out 29 times in Manitoba since 2003, with Winnipeg Police Service responsible for 21 deaths, RCMP for seven and the Manitoba First Nations Police Service for one.
The number of fatal shootings involving law enforcement, both in Manitoba and across Canada, has increased in recent years.
The trend has intensified public scrutiny of police conduct and raises questions about whether mandatory inquests are achieving their goal of exploring ways to prevent future deaths.
To find out, the Free Press put two decades of inquests examining deadly encounters with a police bullet under the microscope.
A pattern of none and done
Manitoba’s judiciary has failed to offer up any recommendations for change in two-thirds of inquests examining fatal shootings by police, leaving victims’ families and advocates questioning the value of the proceedings
16 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 12, 2023
Little latitude for objective evaluation
Inquests into fatal shootings involving police routinely avoid examining systemic issues; instead rely heavily on a narrative driven by law enforcement
25 minute read Friday, Sep. 1, 2023
‘Everything fell apart’
Amid grief and trauma, families struggle to make sense of deaths at the hands of police, with little legal support through the inquest process
20 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023
Oversight misfiring
Inquests into fatal shootings by police are marred by lengthy delays, leaving victims’ families clamouring for justice while providing little insight or closure
21 minute read Friday, Aug. 25, 2023