Inquest into fatal shooting of Eishia Hudson concludes

The inquest into the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson by a Winnipeg Police Service officer in 2020 adjourned Thursday with an Indigenous ceremony after more than eight months of hearings.

“This concludes what has been a very long process… This is an important process, and it is a preventative process, and the goal is to see what can be done in the future to prevent a tragedy like this occurring again,” said provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe.

The proceedings, which began in February, examined whether the use of force against the First Nations teen was appropriate and whether systemic racism played a role in the incident. The judge’s task is to make recommendations that could prevent a similar death, but not to assign blame or liability.

Wiebe said she intends to file the final report as quickly as she can.

“To the Hudson family, I know you’ve been here every day. I appreciate how difficult a process this has been for all of you. For Eishia’s family and friends, I note that she was a very loved young woman.”

Wiebe thanked the lawyers who brought forward evidence and made recommendations.

Hudson was shot in April 2020 after officers, who were responding to a robbery at a Sage Creek liquor store, chased the stolen Jeep driven by the teen. The Jeep hit a police cruiser and other vehicles during the high-speed pursuit on Lagimodiere Boulevard in rush-hour traffic.

The inquest heard testimony from the girl’s family, several of the officers at the scene, including the one who shot the teen and some of the other youth who were in the stolen vehicle.

Const. Kyle Pradinuk testified he had fired two shots at her because he believed his colleagues’ lives were in danger from the moving Jeep. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which probes serious incidents involving police, found the officer followed the proper protocol and training in the lead up to the shooting and cleared him of wrongdoing.

Cellphone video taken from a witness was given as evidence during the inquest. It appeared to show the Jeep backing away from officers during part of the encounter.

The inquest was called by the province’s chief medical examiner in March 2021, but was delayed partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I hope, at the end of the day, that your memories and what you take with you (are) all of the positive things that I know she was,” said Wiebe, addressing the girl’s family and their supporters in the courtroom.

“Rise above what happened on this last day that she was here, and I hope that eventually, all of those memories replace some of the pain that I know that you must feel, with respect to all that has happened.”

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 and the judge.

William Hudson, the teen’s father, emotionally thanked the lawyers, court staff and others who ran the inquest.

Earlier Thursday, court heard final submissions from Winnipeg police lawyer Kimberly Carswell.

Carswell cautioned Wiebe against making recommendations about certain aspects of police training, protocols and the collection of race-based data in police use-of-force incidents in the absence of evidence. On Thursday, she suggested the police service already does or is in the process of doing some of what was recommended on Wednesday by inquest counsel and lawyers for the family.

Carswell told court the service is not opposed to several of the recommendations made on Wednesday, the first of two days of final submissions, though she did offer some changes to wording.

It was recommended the service develop a unit to respond to youth-involved incidents. Other ideas put forward include training on how to interact with youth and a review of the police force’s air support resources, which include a helicopter and drones.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.mb.ca