Family of international student killed by Winnipeg police attend funeral, call for answers

The family of a 19-year-old international student killed by Winnipeg police are remembering him as a kind person with a passion for life.

Yemisi Opaso and Bukola Opaso travelled from Texas and Nigeria, respectively, to attend their younger brother’s funeral. They spoke to reporters outside Winnipeg’s Thomson Funeral Home Thursday.

“It’s really difficult to come to terms that he is no longer alive,” said Bukola. “Afolabi is very dear to us.”

“Very sweet, very respectful. He’s down to earth. Afolabi’s a big dreamer, and he means so much to us,” said Yemisi. “We never knew we’re going to be here today for his funeral. It’s been a very tough time for us, and we miss him so much. We miss him so, so much.”

Afolabi Stephen Opaso was from Nigeria and was studying economics at the University of Manitoba. He died on Dec. 31 after being shot by Winnipeg police.

“He has so many dreams, so many dreams. And he talks about his dream so passionately. He’s very passionate about life,” Yemisi said.

“We never imagined that a phone call will lead to his death.”

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On the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2023, Winnipeg police responded to a report of a man acting erratically at a south Winnipeg apartment building. Police said Opaso was armed with a knife when they arrived on scene.

Since arriving in Winnipeg Wednesday, Yemisi says she’s spoken to her brother’s roommates, who said Opaso was experiencing a mental health crisis, and was trying to harm himself.

“They said they made it clear on that 9-1-1 call, ‘Our friend is having a mental breakdown, he’s not harmful to anybody. We just need him to be taken to the hospital,'” she said, adding the roommate also told her Opaso opened the door when police arrived.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the incident. Officer-involved deaths in Manitoba are handled by Manitoba’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), but in this case, it was transferred out of province due to a family connection between an officer involved and a Manitoba Justice employee.

Winnipeg lawyer Jean-René Dominique Kwilu is representing the family and was at Thursday’s funeral. He and Opaso’s family say they are in regular contact with the ASIRT, and are scheduled to meet in person Friday.

“If there’s any wrongdoing, there needs to be some accountability,” he said.

“We’re able to rally to show them that they were not alone, even if they weren’t here, but there is support here, and that we will look after each other,” he said.

“The Black community, the African community, the University of Manitoba, everybody has been really supportive, and they’re trying to help us in every way that they can,” said Yemisi.

Uche Nwankwo with AfriCans in South Winnipeg has been in contact with the Opaso’s family since shortly after his death, when one of Opaso’s roommates put them in touch.

“I’ve been in touch with them since the incident happened, and have been coordinating, communicating,” he said.

Nwankwo says it’s been a traumatic experience for other international students, too.

“I’ve been trying to make them understand … our city, our province, our country is not against international students or anybody,” he said. “Trying to calm them down to understand that this thing happened, but this is not what defines us.”

Opaso is being buried in Winnipeg, a city he chose as he had friends studying at the University of Manitoba. Yemisi and Bukola say they are hoping the ASIRT report brings them answers, accountability, and much-needed closure.

“All we just want is justice. We just want answers to all our questions. We want to know what really happened,” Yemisi said.