Hudson shooting inquest wraps with smudging ceremony
Eisha Hudson, 16, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in April 2020.
THE inquest into the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Eisha Hudson by a Winnipeg police officer almost five years concluded Thursday with an Indigenous ceremony after more than eight months of hearings.
The inquest … is a very important process, and it is a preventative process, and hopefully we can draw on this in the future to prevent similar outcomes again,” provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe said.
The inquest has been ongoing since February, examined whether the use of force against the First Nations teen was appropriate and whether systemic racism was a factor in the judge’s task is to make recommendations that could prevent a similar death, but not to assign blame or liability.
“We said she intends to file the final report as quickly as she can.”
“To the Hudson family, I know you’ve been here every day, appreciate how difficult this has been for each and every one of you. For Eisha’s family and friends, I note that she was a very loved young woman.
She thought the lawyers who brought forward evidence and made recommendations in April 2020 to tell officers who were responding to a robbery at a Sage Creek liquor store, chased the stolen deep blue by other vehicles during the high-speed pursuit on Lagimodiere Boulevard and rush-hour traffic.
Hudson was shot and killed in the girl’s family, several of the officers at the scene, including the one who shot the teen and some of the other youth who were in the stolen vehicle.
Crown Kyle Pradnik testified he had fired three shots at her because he believed his colleagues’ lives were in danger. He said the independent investigation Unit of Manitoba, which probes serious incidents involving police, found the officer’s actions justified. Hudson was struck in the head up to the shooting and cleared him of wrongdoing.
A cellphone video taken during the inquest appeared to show the Jeep backing away from officers during part of the incident.
The inquest was called by the province’s chief medical examiner in March 2021, but was delayed partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I hope, at the end of the day, that your memories and what you take with you (are) all of the positive things that I know she was,” said Wiebe, addressing the girl's family and their supporters in the courtroom.
“Rise above what happened on this last day that she was here, and I hope that eventually, all of those memories replace some of the pain that I know that you must feel, with respect to all that has happened.”
The inquest closed with a First Nations smudging ceremony, in which elder Cheryl Alexander offered a prayer and burned sage as a drummer sang. Alexander used prayer fans to waft smoke over members of Hudson's family, lawyers and the judge.
William Hudson, the teen's father, emotionally thanked the lawyers, court staff and others who ran the inquest.
Earlier Thursday, court heard final submissions from Winnipeg police lawyer Kimberly Carswell.
Carswell cautioned Wiebe against making recommendations about certain aspects of police training, protocols and the collection of race-based data in police use-of-force incidents in the absence of evidence. On Thursday, she suggested the police service already does or is in the process of doing some of what was recommended on Wednesday by inquest counsel and lawyers for the family.
Carswell told court the service is not opposed to several of the recommendations made on Wednesday, the first of two days of final submissions, though she did offer some changes to wording.
It was recommended the service develop a unit to respond to youth-involved incidents. Other ideas put forward include training on how to interact with youth and a review of the police force's air support resources, which include a helicopter and drones.