Chief medical examiner calls inquest into death of South Sudanese man shot by police

Manitoba's chief medical examiner is calling for an inquest into the death of a 43-year-old man who was shot multiple times by police, after allegedly assaulting the officers.

On Feb. 23, Winnipeg police responded to a 911 disturbance call. When officers arrived, Machuar Madut allegedly assaulted them. A conducted energy weapon, also known as a stun gun, was used and multiple gunshots were fired by police.

Madut was sent to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

Dr. John K. Younes called the inquest to determine the circumstances surrounding Madut's death, and to find out if anything can be done in the future to prevent similar occurrences.

When and where the inquest will take place will be decided by the chief judge of the provincial court of Manitoba and released at a later date.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba is still investigating the incident.

Events leading up to death

Madut moved to Canada with his family in 2003, fleeing war in South Sudan, and in recent years had struggled with mental health issues, friends said after he died.

He was being evicted from his apartment, over a dispute about paying rent.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, his neighbour heard loud banging in the hallway outside her third-floor apartment, and saw Madut banging on a door with a hammer.

She approached the man, trying to get him to calm down and put down the hammer.

"There was no coherence whatsoever," Colleen Risbey told CBC News in February. "He was 100 per cent focused on the action that his body was doing, which was breaking down a door with a hammer. It wasn't his door, and the people inside were very terrified."

Risbey said Madut smashed through that door and into the apartment, and then came banging on her door, before things grew quiet.

A neighbour called 911, and police arrived, she said. 

Madut died in his second-floor apartment, according to family.