Winnipeg’s South Sudanese community is demanding answers after the death of one of its members at the hands of Winnipeg police.
Machuar Madut was killed at his Colony Street apartment Saturday morning in an incident under investigation by the Independent Investigation Unit.
In a release Monday, representatives from the Council of South Sudanese Community of Manitoba (COSSCOM) said Madut had been suffering from – and receiving help for – mental health issues, which had resulted in his separation from his children and family.
“Machuar was a very kind man, very quite he came to the centre here to hang out and never really bothered anybody. Apart from that as a human being he had been living with a lot of barriers, language barriers, mental health, and a new community.” South Sudanese Community Member Sandy Deng said.
“We are deeply saddened by the level of force used by the Winnipeg police in response to this incident,” said the release.
“This is not the first time our community members felt victims of the Winnipeg police excessive use of force.”
The release described Madut as a man who “would never pose a threat to anyone”, who spent most of his time at the Portage Place mall and at the South Sudanese Community Centre.
“The police are trained and they are aware of mental illness. They could deescalate this situation and they could talk him down and calm him and save his life, but it just went in a negative way, in a way we didn’t expect.” Sudanese Community President Martino Laku said.
The IIU said police were called to the Colony Street apartment after a report of a man with a hammer and a possible break-in to one of the suites Saturday.
“At 9:43 a.m. that morning, a confrontation with the male took place and resulted in an officer or officers discharging their firearms. The male was transported to Health Sciences Centre where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.”
The IIU continues to investigate.
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