Inquest called into death of First Nations man shot by Winnipeg police during robbery investigation

Manitoba's chief medical examiner has called an inquest into the death of a 22-year-old man who was shot by police in spring 2020.

Stewart Kevin Andrews died April 18, 2020, after officers responded to a gun call on Adsum Drive near Pipeline Road around 4 a.m. A 16-year-old boy also was injured, police said at the time.

Andrews was one of two people allegedly involved in an armed robbery — one armed with a shovel and the other with a handgun, a news release from the office of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. John K. Younes said on Friday.

A man putting out his garbage said he was confronted by two males who tried to rob him, police said in a news release shortly after the incident. The man was assaulted with the shovel but ran away and called 911.

Police were then called about windows being broken at an apartment building on the same block.

Officers found Andrews and the teen and there was a confrontation leading to officers firing guns multiple times, Friday's release from Younes said. Andrews was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The teen was sent to hospital with minor injuries and later taken into police custody.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba investigated the incident and ruled out charges against any officers. 

The officer who shot Andrews told IIU investigators through notes and a prepared statement that Andrews appeared to be holding a long metal pipe and swinging it like a baseball bat while taking a few steps toward him.

The officer said he yelled at Andrews to drop the weapon but Andrews refused. The officer said that's when he fired five rounds at Andrews' chest, killing him.

The teen, it was later revealed, was armed with a BB gun.

Andrews' death was the third fatal shooting by city police involving an Indigenous person in the city in a 10-day period, following the deaths of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson and 36-year-old Jason Collins.

The inquest into Andrews' death was called in accordance with Manitoba's Fatalities Inquiries Act, which requires an inquest whenever a person dies as a result of the use of force by a peace officer acting in the course of duty.

It will determine the circumstances surrounding the death and whether anything can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future, the release from Younes said.

Information about when and where the inquest will happen will be determined by the chief judge of the provincial court of Manitoba and released at a later date.