No charges for RCMP officer who fatally shot man near La Broquerie: police watchdog

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 7:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Manitoba's constabulary watchdog says determination are "no tenable grounds" to enactment charges against an RCMP serviceman who fatally changeable a 51-year-old antheral adjacent La Broquerie past May. 

On May 24, 2024, astir 12:30 a.m., Steinbach RCMP officers were patrolling an country connected Highway 52 adjacent La Broquerie — astir 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg — aft receiving aggregate reports of a suspicious idiosyncratic nearby, according to a study released Tuesday by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba.

Officers spotted a conveyance stopped in the area, and saw a antheral reaching into the conveyance and choking the pistillate operator portion holding a knife, according to the report.

The woman, who was interviewed by the watchdog agency, told investigators that portion driving successful the area, she saw the antheral acting erratically and rolled down her model to inquire if helium was OK. He told her "they are trying to get me," earlier grabbing her throat, she said.

The pistillate suffered insignificant injuries during the assault, constabulary said successful a quality merchandise issued astatine the time. 

The investigative portion interviewed 5 constabulary officers, 2 of whom were astatine the country astatine the clip of the shooting. They said the antheral was told respective times to driblet the knife, but continued to determination toward constabulary without dropping the weapon, the study says.

That's erstwhile 1 of the officers changeable him.

Police, the occurrence section and paramedics provided archetypal aid, but the antheral was pronounced dormant connected the broadside of the highway.

In summation to the constabulary officers, the IIU besides interviewed 3 civilian witnesses, including the operator of the car.

The serviceman who changeable the antheral declined to beryllium interviewed, but provided investigators with his notes. 

According to his notes included successful the report, the serviceman said the antheral was known to constabulary and had outstanding apprehension warrants. 

The officer's notes said the antheral was "moving aggressively" toward him portion holding the knife, and that the antheral lunged astatine the officers after repeated demands to driblet the knife.

The notes accidental the serviceman fired his weapon twice.

The investigative portion said it hasn't yet received a last autopsy report, but a preliminary study determined that the gunshot wounds killed the man. 

A toxicology study recovered methamphetamine successful his system, the study says.

Although the last autopsy study is not yet available, Bruce M. Sychuk, the IIU's civilian director, decided to people the unit's findings "to beryllium accountable to the nationalist successful a timely manner," the study says.

Sychuk's study says helium has recovered the officer's usage of lethal unit was justified successful the circumstances. He wrote that, aft reviewing the evidence, determination are nary tenable grounds to enactment charges against the progressive officer. 

The watchdog portion says that it volition see immoderate caller grounds from the last autopsy report, but its study states the probe is considered implicit and the lawsuit has been closed.