INQUEST
“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.