Stay updated with breaking news from Alternative Response. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
"You are not taping a sprained ankle. You're sitting and listening and dealing with the person until proper resources can come or they get taken to hospital."
Nearly 9,000 people have signed a petition calling for justice and change in response to how the police respond to mental health crises after an international student was fatally shot by Winnipeg police on New Year’s Eve.
A Winnipeg-based criminologist is raising concerns about police violence in the city, saying that the incidents involving police are becoming more violent and preventable.
"The need for mental health services and substance use services has grown hugely, and those services haven't really matched the growing population needs."
Jean-René-Dominique Kwilu, the Winnipeg lawyer who is assisting the family of a man fatally shot by Winnipeg police on New Year's Eve has said that the man was an international student from Nigeria. The man identified as a 19-year-old Afolabi Stephen Opaso, was an international student originally from Nigeria who was studying at the University of Manitoba. CTV News reports that Winnipeg police reported the shooting to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) hours after it happened on December 31 around 2:20 p.m.