By: Erik Pindera
Posted:
The provincial court inquest examining the circumstances of the fatal 2020 shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson by a Winnipeg Police Service officer adjourned on Wednesday after hearings held over more than eight months.
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The provincial court inquest examining the circumstances of the fatal 2020 shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson by a Winnipeg Police Service officer adjourned on Wednesday after hearings held over more than eight months.
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The provincial court inquest examining the circumstances of the fatal 2020 shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson by a Winnipeg Police Service officer adjourned on Wednesday after hearings held over more than eight months.
The inquest, which opened in February, was held to examine whether the use of force against the teenage First Nations girl was appropriate, whether systemic racism played a role in her death and determine recommendations that could prevent a death similar to hers in the future, but not to assign blame or liability.
Provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe, who oversaw the inquest, told court Wednesday she intends to file her final report as quickly as she can.
Hudson was shot in April 2020 after officers, responding to a liquor store robbery, chased the stolen Jeep she was driving.
The inquest heard the Jeep hit a police cruiser and other vehicles during the pursuit before an officer fired the fatal shots.
The inquest heard testimony from girl’s family, several of the officers on the scene, including the one who shot the teen and some of the youths who were in the vehicle with the girl.
Const. Kyle Pradinuk testified he fired two shots at Hudson because he believed his colleagues’ lives were in danger from the moving Jeep.
Cellphone video evidence taken from a witness was given as evidence during the inquest. It appeared to show the Jeep was backing away from officers during part of the encounter.
The inquest closed with a First Nations smudging ceremony, in which elder Cheryl Alexander offered a prayer and burned sage as a drummer sang. Alexander used prayer fans to waft smoke over members of Hudson’s family, lawyers who appeared at the inquest and the judge.
erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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