A two-day manhunt for a suspect in several assaults ended with the alleged perpetrator dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Thompson RCMP say.
The series of events began around 4:15 a.m. Jan. 27 when Thompson RCMP received a report of a 21-year-old man bear spraying three people at a home in Sayisi Dene First Nation (SDFN), Manitoba’s northernmost First Nation, which is only accessible by air outside of winter road season. Officers from Thompson and police dog services from The Pas were sent to the community.
Even before they had left, a second call was received about the same suspect assaulting two adults while in possession of a knife before fleeing. The caller told police the suspect may have also had a gun.
When RCMP arrived they were told that some community members had confronted the suspect and taken his gun, which went off during the confrontation but did not injure anyone. Police were also told that the man may have had access to more guns.
Efforts to locate the suspect failed until police were notified of his location around 8 p.m. Jan. 28. They found him holding a gun outside a home and verbally commanded him to drop the weapon, which is when he shot himself.
Officers administered first aid and the man was taken to the nursing station, where he was pronounced dead.
SDFN Chief Evan Yassie said during a Zoom press conference Jan. 31 that he believed drugs were the catalyst for the assaults and resulting death.
“[Drugs are] coming in steady through the mail and so it gets in and gets distributed and situations become dangerous and volatile,” said Yassie. “I know cocaine is one of them. A couple of times there was meth. They have all these different types of crazy pills that they have on the streets. That what’s coming in and alcohol.”
SDFN is a dry reserve where possession of alcohol is prohibited, but First Nation Safety Officers (FNSOs) don’t have the resources to protect themselves while trying to enforce the bylaws of the First Nation, which doesn’t have an RCMP detachment but falls under the jurisdiction of the Thompson Rural RCMP detachment.
“Sometimes [FNSOs] put themselves in harm’s way,” Yassie said, because people high on drugs can behave erratically. “Paranoia kicks in and then their fight or flight mode kicks in. They start damaging and inflicting pain on whoever comes across them or whoever upsets them. When people are on these heavy drugs and mixing it with alcohol, there’s no rational thinking.”
Yassie said he is worried about more drugs and alcohol coming into Tadoule Lake while the winter road is open but says the First Nation has a hard time stopping them throughout the year, as people bring drugs in by plane or ship them to the community through the mail.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee says laws prevent more intrusive searches for drugs.
The grand chief sent a letter to Premier Heather Stefanson regarding the situation Jan. 31.
With a lockdown in effect due to the current omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and no police in the community, circumstances add up to a potential powder keg, says Settee.
“The mental and emotional state of people who have been under lockdown is exacerbated by drugs. It’s a dangerous place for anyone to be. It’s costing the lives of people.”
Yassie, who says the community is also running low on fuel and can’t offer the sort of remote learning other schools in the province can because of the poor internet, is worried abut the effect of this latest tragedy on the young people of SDFN.
“I know there’s a few of them out there right now still struggling,” he said.
The death of the 21-year-old will be investigated by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which looks into serious incidents involving on- and off-duty police officers in the province, because it happened in the presence of RCMP officers. As the incident involves a fatality, the IIU requested a civilian monitor from the Manitoba Police Commission.
