A woman from the Tataskweyak Cree Nation is suing the city of Winnipeg and two police officers after her common-law partner died following an encounter with Winnipeg police.
Elias Whitehead, 37, was involved in an encounter with officers near the intersection of Sherbrook Street and Broadway in Winnipeg on October 15, 2023.
Manitoba’s police watchdog, which is investigating Whitehead’s death in custody, has previously said officers They were called to the area of West Broadway shortly before 11 p.m. on a report of a man “acting erratically” in traffic.
white head He began having difficulty breathing during his arrest, according to the Manitoba Independent Investigation Unit. He received medical attention from members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, who were nearby responding to an unrelated incident, police told the investigation unit.
He was taken to the Health Sciences Center, where he was pronounced dead.
His The arrest was caught on camera by a witness.
In a statement of claim filed earlier this month in the Court of King’s Bench in Winnipeg, Jody Beardy, Whitehead’s common-law partner, says he was under police escort by an unknown officer, identified in the lawsuit as Pat Doe, and that Whitehead’s “hands were empty, behind his back, and he complied.”
Once they reached the patrol car, the officer slammed Whitehead into the vehicle, where another unknown officer, identified as Miki Doe in the lawsuit, grabbed him, “threw him to the ground, and punched and kneeled him repeatedly,” the statement of claim alleges.
An officer knelt on Whitehead, according to the lawsuit, which alleges he suffered a fatal injury as a result of the officers’ use of force.
‘No immediate threat’ to police: lawsuit
The claim says Whitehead was defenseless and “was docile, unarmed, in a position of disadvantage, non-aggressive and posed no immediate threat” to officers.
It alleges that the officers committed forcible confinement against Whitehead and used physical force “without consent, necessity or legal justification.”
The lawsuit also claims that it would have been apparent to the officers that Whitehead was an Indigenous man, and accuses them of stereotyping and giving Whitehead “differential treatment based on his race.”
The lawsuit filed by Beardy, who is a teacher in the Tataskweyak Cree Nation, just over 700 kilometers north of Winnipeg, seeks damages on behalf of herself and members of Whitehead’s family, including her father, mother and siblings.
The allegations have not been proven in court and the City of Winnipeg has not yet filed a statement of defence.
Winnipeg Police Service Public Information Officer, Const. Pat Saydak said the service will not comment on the lawsuit since the matter is before the court.
Beardy’s lawyer, Martin Pollock, says Whitehead’s death was “a tremendous loss” for his client and that he found it difficult to watch bystander video of the arrest.
“For her to watch a video capture of her loved one having blunt force administered while he’s lying on his chest, helpless… it’s shocking,” he said in an interview with CBC.
“Here he is alive, walking, then he’s on the ground receiving blunt force administration, and then he’s dead.”
Beardy wondered, “Would my loved one be here if they weren’t left on the ground like this?” Pollock said.
“Then ask that question: would he be alive?”
