Wait for answers continues 1 year after 19-year-old fatally shot by Winnipeg police
Afolabi Opaso, 19, was fatally shot by police on Dec. 31, 2023
The family of a Nigerian international student shot and killed by Winnipeg police say they're "dealing with a profound sense of frustration" as they continue to wait for the independent report into what led to the incident, almost a year after the death of 19-year-old Afolabi Opaso.
"The investigation into Afolabi's death has dragged on far too long, and we are still left with more questions than answers. Our family deserves transparency, accountability and above all, we need justice," Opaso's sister, Yemisi Opaso, read from a statement prepared on behalf of her family via video call at a news conference Monday afternoon.
She said the delay in the release of the report into her brother's death has "only compounded our grief," and left her family feeling like the case is being treated with indifference.
"Afolabi's life mattered. We implore the authorities to act swiftly and release the findings of the investigation so we can begin to find the closure that we desperately need," she said.
Opaso, who was a student at the University of Manitoba at the time of his death, was shot dead by Winnipeg police officers responding to a check well-being call at an apartment building at 77 University Cres. around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2023, the provincial Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) has said. The agency investigates all serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.
Winnipeg police have said that the call involved a possibly armed man acting erratically. Then-police chief Danny Smyth told media a day after the shooting Opaso was armed with two knives when officers shot him.
The IIU tapped its Alberta-based counterpart this past January to take over the investigation of Opaso's death to avoid any perceived conflict of interest after a Manitoba Justice employee was found to be a "close relative" of a police officer involved in the shooting.
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Back in March, a spokesperson for the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said its investigation was nearly finished, but the unit was waiting for Opaso's autopsy to be completed.
They also said it may be up to three months before Opaso's autopsy results make their way to ASIRT's civilian director, who decides whether charges should be laid.
Opaso's sister said she checks in monthly with the investigator on the file, who she said told her as recently as this month that they're still reviewing their findings and could not provide other information.
She said she was told that her brother was having a mental health episode the day he died, and that his roommates called 911 so he could get medical help, making it clear he only posed a danger to himself.
She also said Opaso's roommates also told her he opened the door for police when they arrived at their apartment.
A spokesperson for Manitoba's justice minister said Monday the minister could not comment on the case, "as this is an active investigation."
CBC News has also requested an update from the ASIRT.
Questions left unanswered
The Opaso family's lawyers, Benjamin Nkana Bassi and Jean-René Dominique Kwilu, said Monday they think the amount of time it's taken with no report in sight yet has been unreasonable.
"I think everyone can imagine for any family, after a year, not having the answers, not knowing what's going on, can be really trying and difficult for them," Kwilu said at the news conference.
He said the Opaso family hopes that report will help answer questions they still have about what happened the day their loved one died — including what information emergency dispatchers gave the officers who responded to the call and how much time police had to talk to each other before providing their accounts of what happened.
The family also wants to know whether all the gunshots fired were necessary in the officers' response and whether there was a racial component to how the case was dealt with.
Bassi, the family's other lawyer, said the Opasos don't live in Winnipeg and have also faced significant costs related to travelling to the city and burying their loved one.
"The police killed somebody and abandoned the family. Not one dime to help them bury their child," Bassi said.
"We have some hard time explaining to people in Africa that a country like Canada can be responsible for the killing of their children, and not even helping that family to bury their children. No moral support, nothing whatsoever."
Bassi said the family may consider civil action, pending the results of the investigation, but are concerned any more delays may compromise their ability to do that under provincial limitation laws.
'Injustice to one is injustice to all'
People in Manitoba's Nigerian community say they too are waiting for answers in Opaso's death.
"The community, they're frustrated, I am frustrated personally with the fact we still don't have full closure," said Vera Keyede, the president of Manitoba's Nigerian Association. "Even though he's been buried, we don't have closure."
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Keyede compared the length of time it's taken for the ASIRT report to come to a slap in the face.
"As a Nigerian we are one people that believe that injustice to one is injustice to all,'" she said.
Looking back on Opaso's death, Keyede remembers feeling "numb" for a few minutes and she "couldn't fathom what happened" when she heard about it.
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"It's one year down the road," she said. "It has not taken the anger, frustration away from me to know that this could have been avoided at all cost," she said.
Keyede hopes some change can come from Opaso's death. The investigation's findings may also help police and authorities "review their process of handling cases relating to mental health," she said.
With files from Rosanna Hempel, Caitlyn Gowriluk and Maggie Wilcox