Nunavut man shot by Winnipeg police was in 'really sad' situation, judge said days before his death
CBC
Warning: This story includes details about a suicide attempt and violence.
A man shot and killed by Winnipeg police earlier this week was from Nunavut and is being remembered as a proud Inuk who craved connection and needed help to overcome his violent past.
Jordan Charlie, 24, was released from custody in Manitoba on Nov. 19 after he pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and three other related charges for incidents that happened this year, court recordings reviewed by CBC News reveal.
The Inuk man from Taloyoak, Nunavut, was brought to Manitoba to serve time at the Stony Mountain Institution north of Winnipeg, court heard, after he was sentenced to 4½ years in federal prison in September 2019 for two unprovoked attacks that took place in Yellowknife earlier that year.
Charlie's mother confirmed to CBC News that he was the person fatally shot by police at a bus shelter in the parking lot of Winnipeg's Unicity Shopping Centre on Sunday night.
Lucy Angnakok, who met Charlie through her work at Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre in Winnipeg, said she last heard from him during his most recent incarceration and brought him Inuit food that he'd asked for.
He mentioned to Angnakok that he wanted to get treatment for drug addiction and find a job, but she also remembers he was proud to speak some Inuktitut and to connect with other Inuit in Winnipeg, she said.
"I think he was overly independent. He knew he needed help, but he would often mention that he's going to wait until he's ready," Angnakok said.
"I would always just remind him that, when he is ready, that I'm here to help, and unfortunately that never came. Like, he was never ready."
Winnipeg police said Charlie had an edged weapon, but didn't drop it when officers told him to, and video posted to social media shows him taking a couple of steps toward the officers before they shoot him.
Police said he stabbed an officer in the neck before guns were drawn.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which examines all serious matters involving police in the province, is now investigating Charlie's killing.
Last week, Catherine Rogers, Charlie's defence lawyer, told Manitoba provincial court Judge Don Slough that he had no way to return to Nunavut after his release from Stony Mountain.
"He's essentially been stuck in Winnipeg for about a year," she said. "He's been transient during that time. He's been either sleeping rough or staying at the shelter. He doesn't have any resources here or any support."
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