‘Where was his help?’ Loved ones of man who died in police custody on Sherbrook Street call for answers | CBC News

The loved ones of a man who died in Winnipeg police custody last month wants to know where his help was the night he died.

Elias Whitehead died after an encounter with Winnipeg police on Oct. 15 at the intersection of Sherbrook Street and Broadway.

“He was a carpenter, he was a Level 1 heavy duty mechanic, and he would’ve been graduating on Oct. 24 from heavy equipment operating training — that’s why he was here in Winnipeg,” said Jody Beardy, Whitehead’s partner, during a news conference Thursday afternoon. 

“Elias was a good man —he was, he really was,” said Beardy. “He was kind, he would help anyone who needed it, and he would befriend anyone.”

Thursday’s news conference was held to discuss not only Whitehead’s death, but the broader issue of a “recurring pattern of police-related fatalities involving First Nations citizens,” said a news release from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, which hosted the conference.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates serious incidents involving police in the province, said it was notified Oct. 16 of an in-custody death by the Winnipeg Police Service and that it is investigating.

A spokesperson for the Webequie First Nation — almost 550 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., and the First Nation Whitehead was originally from — previously identified him as the man who died in the incident. 

Winnipeg police told the investigative unit that officers were called to the West Broadway area shortly before 11 p.m. on Oct. 15, with a report of a man “acting erratically” in traffic, the IIU previously said.

The police report to the IIU said the man started to have difficulty breathing during his arrest. He received immediate medical care from Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members, who were nearby responding to an unrelated incident, police told the investigative unit. 

He was taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

“As kids, we’re taught that police are here to protect us, and that’s something that we teach our children as well — the police are supposed to keep people safe, they’re supposed to help people,” Beardy said Thursday.

“But this wasn’t the case for Elias and many other people. Where was his help? Why didn’t they keep him safe?”

Officers will ‘account for their actions’: police chief

Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth said Thursday afternoon there won’t be a status update on the investigation from the police service right now, but he can appreciate that the family wants to know what happened.

“They want to know the truth of what happened … as does the rest of the community,” he said in an interview with CBC.

The Independent Investigation Unit will work to determine what led to Whitehead’s death, and he expects the Winnipeg Police Service to co-operate with the police watchdog, Smyth said.

“I’m confident that our members are well trained,” he said.

“We will co-operate with the investigation, and that will mean the officers will come in and account for their actions.”