Winnipeg Police Shoot and Kill Man (52) (Dec. 29, 2023)

Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) officers shot and killed a 52-year-old man on December 29, 2023. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) reports that police claim they responded to a hostage-taking at an apartment.

Police claim that a man, armed with a knife, had been holding a 19-year-old woman against her will in a hallway when he forced her into a suite with three other people. Those three people, a 33-year-old woman, her three-year-old daughter and a 23-year-old man, later allegedly escaped.

WPS tactical team officers then entered the apartment. The 19-year-old was removed by police and the man was shot and killed.

Police claim the man they killed was considered a person of interest in the homicide of a BC truck driver. None of the police claims in this case have been confirmed publicly.

Man (40) in Distress Dies in Peterborough Police Action (Dec. 26, 2023)

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of a 40-year-old man who was in distress on the morning of December 26, 2023, in Lakefield.

They report that at approximately 1:30 AM, a woman contacted Peterborough Police Service to report that her son was in distress and was at an apartment on Queen Street in Lakefield. Police claim that upon arrival, an officer saw the man holding a baseball bat outside of the apartment. The man allegedly struck the officer with the bat and re-entered the apartment.

Additional officers arrived at the scene, and they reportedly made attempts to communicate with the man which were unsuccessful. When officers breached the apartment door, they allegedly found the man in the kitchen in medical distress. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to the case by the SIU.

Policing is violence. It is not care. Police are not the appropriate response to someone in distress.

RCMP Shoot and Kill Man (25) on Red Earth Cree Nation (Dec. 19, 2023)

RCMP shot and killed a 25-year-old man from Red Earth Cree Nation on December 19, 2023. It is reported that Carrot River RCMP received a notice of shots fired on Red Earth Cree Nation at about 3:40 AM. They responded and arrested two people. A third person, a 25-year-old man identified as allegedly involved, was located nearby. Police claim that when they arrived at the scene, shots were fired at patrol vehicles. RCMP officers say they exited their vehicles and some type of unspecified “altercation” occurred between the man and the officers. It is reported that there was an alleged shootout, and the man was killed. One officer was reported to be injured.

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) will investigate the Saskatchewan RCMP’s actions. This is the 12^th SIRT investigation since it began operations at the start of this year.

None of the police claims have been confirmed publicly. The two people arrested have not so far been charged.

Abbotsford Police Shoot and Kill Man in Crisis (Dec. 17, 2023)

Abbotsford police shot and killed a man on the evening of December 17, 2023. The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) reports that Abbotsford Police Department officers responded to “a report of a suicidal male” at around 10 PM at the 1700-block of Riverside Road. The IIO says there was “an interaction” between the man and police and the man was shot by officers and died at the scene.

This is the second person shot and killed by Abbotsford police in under a month. Another man was killed near the Abbotsford Regional Hospital on November 30, 2023.

Police are not care, they are violence. They are not the appropriate response for someone in crisis and should not be deployed against them.

York Police Shoot and Kill 37-Year-Old Man (Dec. 7, 2023)

A York Regional Police Service officer fatally shot a 37-year-old man in Newmarket, Ontario, on the evening of December 7, 2023. The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) reports that officers were called to an apartment on Crowder Boulevard regarding a domestic disturbance at approximately 10:30 PM. Officers located a man in a stairwell of the apartment building. There was reportedly some type of undisclosed “interaction,” and the man was shot by police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The SIU has assigned five investigators and three forensic investigators to the case. One subject official and two witness officials have been designated at this time.

Edmonton Police Shoot and Kill Woman During Wellness Check (Dec. 6, 2023)

Edmonton police shot and killed a woman during a wellness check in southeast Edmonton on December 6, 2023. It is reported that Edmonton Police Service officers responded to a welfare check in an apartment building in the area of 18 Avenue and 32 Street just after 10:30 AM. Police claim that “when officers arrived at the residence, no one would answer the door despite several callouts to the occupants.” They made the decision to enter the apartment.  At some point shortly after entry, an unspecified “confrontation occurred and officers deployed a conducted energy weapon and discharged a firearm, striking the woman.” She died on scene. It has not been explained publicly why police inflicted violence so quickly during a wellness check, but the nature of policing is aggression and brutality.

The woman’s parents have come forward to question the quick violence of the police during a wellness check. In a statement they say they believe that the situation would have unfolded differently had their daughter “fully understood the nature of the visit.” In their view, “Therefore, the issue is in the way the approach was handled — which would have created an understanding of support, rather than one of fear.” They cannot understand how police came to deploy a taser and shoot and kill their daughter. In their words,

“This is my primary concern here, in that a wellness check involves a specific approach and makes considerations of the person being dealt with — instead of creating a confrontative situation that creates fear and confusion. I see my daughter’s death as being a result of a complete mishandling of the tools available to law enforcement in the application of dealing with mental health issues. She had every intention of helping herself and being with her son that day.”

This is the second person shot and killed by Edmonton police in a matter of days. On Sunday, December 3, Edmonton police shot and killed Calvin (Kat) Arcand, a Cree man from Alexander First Nation.

Policing is not about care. It is violence. Police are not the appropriate response to people in crisis and police should not be doing wellness checks.

Woman Dies in RCMP Custody in Wilkie, Saskatchewan (Dec. 5, 2023)

Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating a woman’s death after she was taken into RCMP custody in Wilkie, Saskatchewan, a town located 165 kilometers west of Saskatoon, on December 5, 2023. It is reported that RCMP officers were asked to conduct a wellness check on an adult woman at a home there at approximately 7:45 PM. Officers responded to the residence but did not find the woman. At 9:30 PM, police reportedly received a report of a 911 hang-up at a different residence in Wilkie. When officers arrived, they allegedly found a woman who needed medical attention. She was taken into custody under the province’s Mental Health Act and is reported to have gone into medical distress after she was transferred to an ambulance. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police are not health care and are not the appropriate response for someone in medical distress or for a wellness check.

Edmonton Police Shoot and Kill Calvin (Kat) Arcand, An Alexander First Nation Cree Man (Dec. 3, 2023)

Edmonton police shot and killed Calvin (Kat) Arcand, a Cree man from Alexander First Nation, on the evening of December 3, 2023, in downtown Edmonton. APTN News has confirmed that Mr. Arcand is a member of Alexander First Nation, about 60 kilometers northeast of Edmonton.

It is reported that the killing occurred after Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers were dispatched to the area of 99th Avenue and 111th Street around 8:30 PM in response to a report that a man with a knife was approaching people in the area. Police claim there was some sort of undisclosed confrontation with the man in the area of 100th Avenue and 111th Street and an officer shot the man, killing him.

Videos show police taser the man, who appears to fall to the ground. Police then fire six shots in rapid succession. Questions have been raised about why police ignored protocol and got so close to someone who allegedly held a knife. Questions have also been asked about why police acted as they did after the taser appeared to work in dropping the victim.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating. Police have declined to provide any additional details on the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation. ASIRT has not yet spoken on the case.

Abbotsford Police Shoot and Kill Man Following Call at Hospital (Nov. 30, 2023)

A man was shot and killed by an Abbotsford Police Department (APD) officer following a call to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital on November 30, 2023. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC reports that at about 3:45 PM, APD officers responded to a report of a man with a weapon at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. When police arrived, there was allegedly some sort of unspecified interaction between the man and police and an officer fired their weapon, striking the man. The victim received immediate treatment but was subsequently pronounced dead.

Initial reports said the shooting occurred at the hospital. Subsequent reports said officers arrived in the area of Robertson Avenue and Ware Street and a confrontation occurred in that area. Police have said the man was running away, but it is not reported how police intervened against him prior to shooting him.