“Officers Just Opened Fire and Blew the Heck out of Him”: Police Killing of Mark Dicesare, 24, (Winnipeg, November 6, 2015)

A man, identified as Mark Dicesare (24), shot multiple times by Winnipeg police following pursuit by dozens of police vehicles died of multiple injuries inflicted by police on November 6, 2015. His death was announced on November 7.

Winnipeg police have still released few details of the killing but they have confirmed that firearm discharge occurred, involving their officers. Witnesses, including at least one news reporter, have stated that multiple officers opened fire on the man simultaneously during a brief standoff in a field in the city near Lipsett Hall at the former Kapyong Barracks military site.

Several police vehicles had pursued the man to the field after he was reportedly see driving erratically. Witnesses reported around 30 police vehicles involved in the standoff. The shooting occurred about 45 minutes after police first became involved and during a 20 minute standoff.

Local radio station CJOB recorded the observation of one witness identified as Brian who saw police open fire on the man: “The driver … came out, had his hands in his coat breast pocket, took his hand outside of his jacket, and at least ten to twelve officers just opened fire and blew the heck out of him” (CP 2015).

CBC Winnipeg recorded a lengthy witness account of the killing:

“A white man with black hair, black jacket got out [and] started walking around his vehicle very nervously, had his hand in his jacket pocket, inside his jacket, started to pull his hand out of his jacket. And I’d have to say 10 to 12 police officers just rapid-fire opened up, and that was it. It was just, ‘Bang, bang, bang’ all at the same time. It’s just like a movie; it’s just unbelievable. Like, it just wasn’t one shot. It sounded [like] at least 10, all at the same time.” (CBC 2015)

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates all serious incidents involving police, is investigating the killing. The IIU began operations only a few months ago and has yet to provide a report on any of the numerous police involved shootings in Manitoba.

Further Reading

CBC. 2015. “Man Shot by Police near Kenaston Boulevard Dies in Hospital: Reports.” Nov. 7. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/man-shot-by-police-near-kenaston-boulevard-dies-in-hospital-reports-1.3307891

CP. 2015. “Man Shot by Winnipeg Police after Lengthy Chase and Standoff Dies.” The Brandon Sun. Nov. 6. http://www.brandonsun.com/national/breaking-news/man-in-hospital-after-shot-by-winnipeg-police-officer-342022601.html

Woman Killed in High Speed Police Chase (Winnipeg, November 23, 2015)

A woman has been killed in a high speed police chase in Winnipeg early Monday morning, November 23, 2015. Police undertook the high speed chase after spotting a vehicle that they suspected had been involved in a commercial robbery earlier in the evening. During the chase the woman’s vehicle went out of control subsequently striking a building at a downtown intersection. The woman was taken to hospital in critical condition but did not survive. The Manitoba Independent Investigation Unit, charged with investigating serious incidents involving police has been brought in to investigate the crash.

Two Bathurst Police Officers Charged with Manslaughter in Killing of Michel Vienneau (New Brunswick)

In the Canadian context, whether dealing with federal, provincial or municipal forces, it is extremely rare for police to be held in any way accountable when they kill people. On Thursday, November 19, 2015 one of those exceptional instances occurred when it was announced that two officers from the police force of Bathurst, New Brunswick have been charged in connection with the police killing of Michel Vienneau (51) on January 12 of the same year.

Nova Scotia RCMP, the force which had been charged with reviewing the case, announced that Constable Patrick Bulger, 38, of Beresford, and Constable Mathieu Boudreau, 26, of Dunlop, have each been charged with: manslaughter with a weapon; two counts of assault with a weapon; two counts of unlawfully pointing a firearm. Boudreau was identified as the officer who fired several times killing Vienneau. Both officers are to appear in provincial court in Bathurst on Jan. 4, 2016.

Vienneau was returning from a trip to Montréal with his partner Annick Basque when the couple were intercepted by the Bathurst police officers and shot and killed outside the city’s train station. According to court documents, Bathurst police received a Crime Stoppers tip that Vienneau would be on the train from Montréal and in possession of drugs. The Nova Scotia RCMP claimed, however, that their investigation found Vienneau not to be involved in any criminal activity.

Nova Scotia RCMP Inspector Larry Wilson met with media in Bathurst on Thursday but refused to answer many questions asked by reporters on grounds that the case was now before the courts. The New Brunswick Police Commission also announced on Thursday that Bathurst police Chief Eugène Poitras had filed a conduct complaint against the two officers charged in the shooting of Vienneau. That case was to be investigated by Moncton lawyer Judith Beglay but has now been suspended following the completion of criminal proceedings.

The two officers have been suspended but the Police Act conveniently allows only for suspensions with pay.

Police Killing of Rodrigo Hector Almonacid Gonzalez Raises Questions about SIU (Toronto)

On November 7, 2017, Rodrigo Hector Almonacid Gonzalez, a hospital worker and father of two young sons, died from injuries sustained in an interaction with Toronto police. Less than a day before more than ten Toronto Police officers, including a tactical squad equipped with a battering ram and shields, had forced their way into the Gonzalez home where the 43 year old occupant had apparently locked himself in his bathroom for reasons yet unknown. During the police encounter two Tasers were deployed against Gonzalez and he was taken from the building on a stretcher.

Photographs taken by Gonzalez’s wife at the hospital reveal horrific injuries including a bloody head injury, a black eye, bruising on an arm and shoulder, and what the family believes to be a Taser mark near the victim’s groin. The family was notified that Gonzalez had internal bleeding shortly before he succumbed to his injuries. His mother and wife reported than he had no injuries before police arrived. They also reported being kept from entering the apartment by police officers.

Disturbingly, despite the injuries sustained by the victim in his encounter with police and despite his death in hospital the next day, the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), tasked with investigating all such incidents of police involved civilian harm, took five days before showing up at the apartment to investigate. The family was not told to preserve the scene in the bathroom where the encounter is believed to have occurred and it is not clear if essential evidence has been lost as a result. SIU should have attended and secured the scene directly once it was reported.

Toronto police have refused to comment on the case but an SIU spokesperson confirmed that police reported the incident the day it happened and notified the SIU when Gonzalez died the next day. No answer has been given by SIU for why it took their investigators four days to contact the family. Three SIU investigators and one forensic investigator have since been assigned to the case.

Brandon Maurice (17) Killed by Quebec Provincial Police (November 16, 2015)

A teenager, Brandon Maurice (17), was shot and killed by an officer of the Sûreté du Québec (the Québec provincial police force) south of Maniwaki Québec early in the morning of Monday, November 16. The killing began with pursuit of a vehicle driven by the victim by Sûreté du Québec police officers around 1:30 a.m. The pursuit ended at Chemin de la Ferme and Rue Patry, close to Lac Blue Sea in the municipality of Messines at which point the Sûreté du Québec officer got out of a cruiser and approached the suspect vehicle. When the teen attempted to drive away the officer fired his weapon at him striking the young driver at least once. The teen was taken to the hospital in critical condition and police announced Monday afternoon that he had died of his wounds. The name and age of the victim were released by family. Incredibly the investigation into the killing by police is being handled by another police force with its own contentious history of killings of civilians (the Montréal police)