At least seven people were killed in Canadian police actions in May 2024. This brings the total number of people killed in police actions to at least 38 so far this year. These deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, or died during police deployments, police chases, or in police custody.

At least 11 people were killed in Canadian police actions in April 2024, at least 11 people killed in March, five people killed in February, and at least four people killed in January 2024. There were at least 97 police-involved deaths in Canada in 2023, while in 2022, there were at least 117 police-involved deaths.

The details below are based on police reports, reports from oversight agencies, and in some cases information from families. As always, because there are no formal, systemic mechanisms for documenting and reporting police killings publicly in Canada, all numbers presented for police-involved deaths represent an undercount. In addition to the known cases, there are cases of police-involved deaths that have no reporting. 

In May, at least three people were shot and killed by police. At least four people died in police custody. Three deaths involved police forces in Ontario.

 

May 1. Toronto Police Service. Custody

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of a 23-year-old man in police custody on May 1. The man had been arrested on April 25, 2024, and had been in police custody at a Toronto Police Service (TPS) station.

According to the SIU, on April 25, Peel Regional Police (PRP) officers attended a Circle K located at 7970 Mavis Road in Brampton in response to a call for service. Officers located a person of interest and upon querying his name saw that the man was wanted by the Toronto Police Service. The man was subsequently transported to a TPS police station. At some point he was transported to hospital where he died on May 1. The SIU has assigned one investigator and one forensic investigator to examine the death.

 

May 5. Swift Current RCMP. Custody

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating the death of a 55-year-old woman in Swift Current RCMP custody on May 5. They report that on May 5, at approximately 11:06 AM, Swift Current RCMP received a request to conduct a wellness check on a family member. At approximately 11:15 AM, a 55-year-old woman was located at a local hotel and taken into custody under the Mental Health Services Act. While on the way to Cypress Regional Hospital, she went into medical distress and became unresponsive. She was admitted to hospital where she was pronounced dead at 12:26 PM. SIRT’S Civilian Executive Director and four SIRT investigators are investigating the death.

Cops are not health care. So-called wellness checks by police are not about wellness and are often deadly for people in crisis.

 

May 11. Sault Ste. Marie Police Service. Shooting

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officers shot and killed a 37-year-old man on the night of May 11. The SIU reports that at approximately 10:30 PM, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officers were called to a Circle K store on Second Line West regarding an alleged disturbance. They encountered a 37-year-old man in the vicinity of the store and sought to transport him to another location for undisclosed reasons.

At some point an undisclosed “interaction” occurred, and one officer fired his weapon, striking the man. The victim was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The SIU has assigned four investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the killing.

 

May 16-18. Barrie Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police. Custody

A 28-year-old woman died in police custody on the morning of May 18. It is reported that on the night of May 16, Barrie Police Service officers arrested the woman in the area of 49 Colter Street for outstanding warrants. She was taken to the station and held in a cell.

On the night of May 17, Ontario Provincial Police special constables transported the woman from the Barrie Police Service station to Central North Correction Centre. She was found unresponsive in the vehicle and transported to hospital in Midland.

The woman was pronounced dead in the hospital on the morning of May 18. The SIU has assigned two investigators and one forensic investigator to examine the death.

 

May 17-18. Montreal Police Service. Custody

The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) is investigating a death in Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) custody on May 18. It is reported that on May 17, at around 5:27 PM, SPVM officers arrested a person and transported them for detainment. At around 7:02 PM, the person was placed in a holding cell. On May 18, around 2:08 PM, the person was found unconscious in the cell and pronounced dead at the scene.

The BEI has assigned four investigators to examine the death. The BEI is not an independent agency and depends on other police forces for its investigations, in this case the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

 

May 19. Regina Police Service. Shooting

Regina Police Service (RPS) shot and killed a 65-year-old man outside a home on the 1100 block of Garry Street in the Rosemont-Mount Royal neighbourhood on May 19. The SIRT reports that a “confrontation” of some sort occurred at approximately 3:35 PM, and two RPS officers fired their weapons. They also allege that a marked RPS patrol vehicle was struck by gunfire.

RPS claims they had responded to calls in the preceding days regarding someone allegedly damaging neighbouring property and were responding to another such call on May 19. Officers arrived at the location at 1:07 PM, made contact with the man, and surrounded the house. They then went to a judge to get a warrant to enter the home.

SIRT waited several days to release any information.

 

May 24. Manitoba RCMP. Shooting

A Steinbach RCMP officer shot and killed a 51-year-old man on Highway 52 near La Broquerie, Manitoba (60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg), in the early morning of May 24. The man is reported to be a resident of the Ste. Anne area.

Police claim they were patrolling the area around 12:30 AM after receiving multiple reports about a suspicious man. They allege that they saw a vehicle stopped on the side of the highway with a man standing at the driver’s side door and when they approached the vehicle, they saw a man reaching inside the car and assaulting a woman while holding an edged weapon.

Police claim that they then ordered the man to step away from the vehicle and drop his weapon, but he instead moved toward them with the weapon. An officer shot the man, and he was pronounced dead on the side of the highway. It is reported that the woman sustained minor injuries.

The police claims have not been independently verified publicly.

Jeff Shantz is a long-time anti-authoritarian organizer, researcher, and writer who lives and works on Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo territories (Surrey, British Columbia).