Body cameras should be worn by Winnipeg police officers, advocates urge
Man was shot, killed by police Sunday in Unicity after WPS says he stabbed an officer
WARNING: This story details violent events surrounding a fatal police shooting.
Questions surrounding the death of a man at the hands of Winnipeg police are reigniting discussions around the need for officers to have body cameras.
Police shot and killed a man who they say was holding an edged weapon outside of a bus shelter in a Unicity shopping area after 5 p.m. Sunday. The victim had stabbed an officer in the throat before he was shot several times by police, who repeatedly demanded the weapon be dropped, according to police news releases and a press conference held after the incident.
The man was taken to the Health Sciences Centre but later died. The officer was also taken to hospital in stable condition and he has since been released. Police wouldn't say whether the officer stabbed was involved in the shooting.
Video posted on social media doesn't capture the whole incident, which acting chief Art Stannard stressed at a press conference on Sunday evening.
"We are aware of videos online and we caution the public that they do not show the entire incident," Stannard said.
Former Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak grand chief Sheila North was among those who saw videos documenting the shooting.
WATCH | Raw video of Winnipeg police fatally shooting man near Unicity Shopping Centre:
North believes Winnipeg police should follow in the footsteps of Manitoba RCMP, which announced Wednesday that 44 provincial detachments will receive body cameras. Mounties in Steinbach, Man., started using them Friday.
North thinks they're long overdue and they would provide comfort for community to know that there is an added layer of accountability from police.
"A body-worn camera would help tell the bigger picture of what happened," North said. "I know it's not a silver bullet and it's not going to prevent tragedies necessarily, but it'll start to give a bigger picture of what happened."
She also believes the Winnipeg Police Board has a responsibility in the wake of the incident, and needs to ask why it hasn't yet followed other Canadian municipalities in mandating body cams for officers.
"Cost is one thing, but I think it's something that they need to look at and they can't be mute on this topic," North said, adding that the next police chief should advocate for the implementation of body cams.
Coun. Markus Chambers (St Norbert – Seine River) chairs the police board.
He said Monday that the officer-involved shooting is tragic for all involved and noted it could renew calls to implement body cameras.
"Body-worn cameras likely wouldn't have resulted in this not happening, but it is a mechanism of looking at the accountability around what happened," Chambers said.
The councillor said the board would be monitoring the rollout of body cameras in RCMP detachments across the province to see if they're effective.
'Absolutely paramount' officers have body cams
Ian Scott is a big fan of body cameras.
A lawyer in private practice, Scott served as the director of Ontario's Special Investigations Unit for five years. The unit is similar to that of Manitoba's police watchdog, which has taken over the investigation of Sunday's incident.
"I think they help. They help get to the truth," he said.
Body cameras — if used properly — give investigators and the investigative agency that eventually releases that video to the public a "much greater understanding of not only what was going on before the incident, but [also] the perspective of the subject officers," Scott said.
He believes footage captured by the body camera provides insight into the minds of the subject officers at the time the trigger was pulled.
They also help tell more of a story as compared to an isolated video.
"Social media can be very useful and the public has benefited from the social media video, but typically people don't turn their cameras on until they see an incident that is in high relief," Scott said.
Kash Heed, former chief of the West Vancouver Police Department, is also a proponent for police wearing body cameras.
He said any time there's possible engagement with the public or a suspect, body cameras capture those moments from start to finish so that a clear picture of what took place is captured and investigated.
"There will always be questions asked with respect to any of these tragic incidents that do occur," Heed said.
"The use of technology, such as body-worn cameras by our police officers, is absolutely paramount so we can understand what has happened and why the officer took the action he or she has taken."
WATCH | Winnipeg police shoot, kill man in parking lot after he stabbed officer:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Josh Crabb, Santiago Arias Orozco, Angelina Pelletier and The Canadian Press