ManitobaAn RCMP officer who wounded a knife-wiedling woman near Brandon acted reasonably when he shot her, according to Manitoba’s police watchdog, which is not recommending charges following an investigation that included reviewing body camera footage.1st time bodycam footage has been used by Manitoba police watchdog in shooting investigation: RCMPListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba says an RCMP officer acted reasonably when he shot a woman near Brandon in May, after she ran at him waving a knife. (Trevor Brine/CBC)An RCMP officer who wounded a knife-wielding woman near Brandon acted reasonably when he shot her, according to Manitoba’s police watchdog, which is not recommending charges following an investigation that included reviewing body camera footage.The shooting happened on May 12 in the rural municipality of North Cypress-Langford, about 45 kilometres east of Brandon.Carberry RCMP told the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba they received a complaint about an erratic person walking into traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway and throwing items at people.When police arrived and told the woman she was under arrest, she became agitated, drawing a knife while moving closer to one of the Mounties, according to the IIU’s report on the incident, which is dated Aug. 29 but was just posted on Wednesday. Police said despite attempts to de-escalate the situation, the woman ran toward the officer with the knife, leading him to fire his gun, according to the report.The woman suffered injuries from gunshot wounds to her shoulder, abdomen, right hand and right leg that required surgeries, according to medical reports.Bodycam footage Footage from a bodycam worn by the officer who interacted with the woman was part of the evidence reviewed by the IIU, which is responsible for investigating all serious matters involving police in the province.Mounties in Manitoba started wearing the devices last year, and as of last week, nearly all officers in the province were wearing them.An RCMP spokesperson told Radio-Canada this case is the first time a Manitoba officer’s bodycam footage has been shared with the IIU for a police shooting investigation.A file photo shows an RCMP officer wearing a bodycam. Manitoba’s police watchdog says footage from an officer’s camera was reviewed as part of the investigation into the May shooting. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)In the footage, the officer is heard talking with the woman and telling her she is under arrest, while the woman continues to yell and scream while damaging vehicles, the IIU report said.The woman, who denied being intoxicated, told IIU investigators in an interview she “needed to pray on the side of the highway,” and admitted to throwing items at passing cars, saying she couldn’t tell if they were “good or evil.”She confirmed she was holding a knife and was told by the officer to drop it numerous times but refused.She also acknowledged that the officers were “just doing their jobs” and that she “was a threat to society,” according to the police watchdog’s report.’Numerous attempts to de-escalate’: IIUThe Mountie who shot her declined to be interviewed by the IIU, and instead provided a use of force report. In the document, the officer said the behaviour of the woman, whom he recognized from previous dealings, was erratic. When he asked her what was wrong, she told him she was cleaning garbage on the highway. The Mountie realized the woman had a weapon in her waistband, so he decided to keep his distance. He asked her to stop, but she walked into oncoming traffic, kicking the window of a vehicle before jumping onto the roof of a truck.Manitoba RCMP say this is the first time bodycam footage from the force has been shared with the IIU for a police shooting investigation. (Ben Nelms/CBC)She then jumped down from the car, at which point she had the knife in her hand, according to the report. The Mountie pulled out his gun, and can be heard in the bodycam footage telling the woman to drop her weapon and warning he would be forced to shoot if she didn’t stop moving toward him.Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor at Brandon University, argued Wednesday that the language used by the officer — that he’d be “forced to shoot” — removed agency from the individual officer. Schneider says such language is “intentional and is done by design” to frame the situation so that it’s consistent with the police narrative of the event.Although the officer backed away from her, she didn’t stop, moving toward him “while waving the knife in an aggressive manner,” the police watchdog’s report says.In his use of force report, the Mountie said he shot at the woman when she was about five feet (1.5 metres) away from him.The bodycam footage shows the officer removing her weapons, and then providing medical assistance, according to the IIU report.But Schneider thinks the bodycam footage should be released publicly, even though oversight agencies don’t typically release visual documentation of their findings.”[This] suggests that we the public still must take the police and the oversight agency at their word,” he said. “We don’t get to see the footage, which is inconsistent with all of this talk of transparency.”Manitoba’s police watchdog said it is clear the officer “made numerous attempts to de-escalate … before having to resort to firing his service pistol.”The investigative unit’s civilian director, Bruce M. Sychuk, wrote in his report that he was satisfied the officer “was reasonable in his actions and was left with no other options,” and had not committed a criminal offence in this incident. He recommended no charges against the officer and said the IIU’s investigation was closed. ABOUT THE AUTHORSantiago Arias Orozco is a journalist with CBC Manitoba currently based in Winnipeg. He previously worked for CBC Toronto and the Toronto Star. You can reach him at santiago.arias.orozco@cbc.ca.
No charges for Mountie who shot woman armed with knife, IIU says after reviewing bodycam footage
