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In a report into a Winnipeg police killing, a Manitoba judge recommends consideration of changes to use-of-force training to better reflect the unique experiences of Indigenous people and people in crisis.
Provincial court Judge Anne Crane on Thursday released her 80-page report into the investigation into the “undoubtedly tragic” 2020 death of Stuart Andrews. The report includes 14 recommendations.
“I hope that some of the recommendations in this report represent improvements and small steps to restore the loss of trust that resulted from the circumstances of this death,” Crane wrote.
Andrews, a 22-year-old father, was fatally shot in the Maples area of north Winnipeg on April 18, 2020, during a confrontation with two officers and a police dog in an alley.
During that encounter, he moved quickly toward the officer with a metal rod raised above his head, indicating he was about to swing at the officer, the report said.
Police were responding to a report of an armed robbery in the area when two men approached a man taking out the trash. One of them was armed with a firearm, which turned out to be an air pistol, and the other, believed to be Andrews, had a long metal rod.
Andrews was the third Indigenous man fatally shot by Winnipeg police in 10 days in April 2020. The others were 16-year-old Aisha Hudson and 36-year-old Jason Collins.
Under provincial law, an investigation is required when a person dies as a result of a police officer using force while on duty.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an organization representing 33 First Nations in southern Manitoba, was granted permission to participate in the investigation. The organization called the use-of-force model that police are trained to use, which Krahn acknowledged is the same for every officer, “colorblind.”
Provincial Court Judge Anne Crane called Andrews’ death “undoubtedly tragic.” (Submitted by Alexia Andrews)
MKO noted that this approach “does not take into account the collective experiences of Indigenous people who have seen police take their children to residential schools or assist child welfare authorities, as well as deaths in interactions with police,” Crane wrote.
Officers receive mandatory training on implicit bias and Indigenous cultural awareness, police witnesses who testified at the inquiry noted, but Crane questioned how that training is applied in reality.
“In my view, the issue is what and how officers incorporate this training into their use of force in the field,” the judge wrote.
“Based on the responses of witnesses to the questions posed by MKO, I do not think that the principles taught in these courses translate easily into the reality of what police officers are expected to do in the field.”
The judge recommended that Winnipeg police, in collaboration with MKO, explore whether and how use-of-force training can incorporate the “unique experiences” of Indigenous people and “how those experiences may influence risk assessment and tactical considerations.”
The judge also recommended that police and MKO examine “how unconscious or implicit bias related to race may influence officers’ risk assessments,” including assessing whether these biases can be countered through “evidence-based training.”
Possibly afraid of dogs: family
Another recommendation was that the Winnipeg Police Service’s use of force model be reviewed and revised to improve police capabilities when de-escalating a situation with a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
Some police agencies recognize signs of a mental health crisis as symptoms rather than threats to officer safety, and recognize that many mental health calls “result from symptoms of a crisis rather than criminal behavior,” the judge wrote.
Andrews’ family claimed he tried to defend himself by swinging a metal rod at a “threatening police dog” and that he may have been afraid of dogs because he was from a northern First Nation where dogs are known to “run wild.”
The dog was released to apprehend Andrews but retreated when he placed the bars over the dog’s head, the inquest heard.
Andrews then turned and quickly walked toward the officer who shot him. That’s when the incident turned fatal, the report said.
The dog’s involvement was a key issue that formed the basis for Krahn’s recommendation that the police service clearly define life priorities in a use-of-force situation.
“I see value in making it clear that human life is valued over the life of a police dog,” the judge wrote.
Other recommendations include greater collaboration between the police service and Indigenous communities on education and training for urban policing, developing a plan to reduce delays in investigations and preparing training documents on the concept of police dogs as a use of force tool.
The report also recommends that the police service continue to advocate for the implementation of body cameras.
The Winnipeg Police Service said in an email Friday that it is reviewing the report and its recommendations.