At least six people were killed in police actions in Canada in March 2025. This means at least 27 people have been killed so far this year.

A dozen people were killed by police in February, the deadliest month of Canadian police violence since August 2024, when 13 people were killed. In January 2025, at least nine people were killed by police. These deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, and people who died during police deployments or in police custody.

In 2024, at least 100 people were killed in police actions. There were at least 97 police-involved deaths in Canada in 2023, while in 2022, there were at least 117 police-involved deaths.

One victim has been identified publicly as Abisay Cruz (29) of Montreal. Four of the victims died in custody and one during arrest. One victim was shot. Two of the victims were described as being in some type of crisis at the time police encountered them. Two others were arrested for intoxication, arrests that are often based on class and racial profiling and which are often deadly.

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 instances of police-involved deaths that have no reporting. 

March 12. RCMP. Yellowknife. Custody. Intoxication Arrest.

A man died in RCMP custody following an intoxication arrest in downtown Yellowknife on March 12. There is no independent oversight agency in the Northwest Territories, so Alberta RCMP are investigating the death along with the coroner’s office. This means that the RCMP are investigating the RCMP.

The RCMP claim they received a report of an alleged disturbance at a business on 50th Street around 4 PM. When officers arrived, they detained a man who police claim was “displaying signs of intoxication.” Shortly afterwards, he began showing signs of medical distress. He was declared dead at the scene.

March 17. Ottawa Police Service. Custody.

A 42-year-old died in custody at the Ottawa courthouse on March 17 after having been arrested by the Ottawa Police Service on March 13. The reason for the person’s arrest has not been made public at this time.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) reports that at around 11:30 AM on March 17, a special constable at the Ottawa courthouse observed the person, who was detained in a cell at the courthouse, to be in medical distress. The person was transported to hospital by paramedics and was subsequently pronounced dead there.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case.

March 18-19. Alberta RCMP. Custody. Intoxication Arrest.

A man died in police custody in St. Paul, Alberta (200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton) after an intoxication arrest the day before. St. Paul RCMP say they responded to a call about an “unwanted” man and arrested a man for intoxication on March 18. He was taken to the detachment and detained in a cell at around 9:30 PM. The next morning at 10:25 AM, they say the man was found unresponsive in his cell. He was declared dead a short time later.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the death.

Intoxication arrests are often carried out on a class and/or racial profiling basis. They are often deadly. Police are not care.

March 29. Montreal Police. Shooting.

Montreal police (le Service de police de la ville de Montréal, SPVM) shot and killed a man in the city’s Ville-Marie borough on the evening of March 29. According to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), the SPVM received a 911 call shortly after 9 PM regarding a person allegedly in possession of a firearm in an apartment building. SPVM officers arrived on scene at 9:04 PM and made contact with the person. The BEI reports that “police then fired in the direction of the person, who was wounded by police fire.” Clearly, he was more than wounded because he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Six BEI investigators have been assigned to examine the killing.

March 30. Abisay Cruz. Montreal Police. Arrest.

Abisay Cruz (29), who was in crisis, was killed during an arrest by the SPVM in the Villeray—St-Michel—Parc-Extension borough in the morning of March 30, 2025. The BEI reports that at approximately 8:06 AM, a 911 call was reportedly made regarding a person in crisis at the rear of a residence. Two police officers arrived at the scene at around 8:09 AM. They made contact with the man, subsequently identified as Mr. Cruz, then restrained him. During this time, he reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and went unconscious. Paramedics arrived at around 8:18 AM and took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Neighbours claim they heard him screaming for help. They also say that police neglected his health needs.

Mr. Cruz was the father of a nine year-old child.

The BEI has assigned six investigators to examine the incident.

March 30. Quebec City Police. Custody.

A person died in Quebec City police (le Service de police de la Ville de Québec, SPVQ) custody on the evening of March 30. The BEI reports that at approximately 5:08 PM, a 911 call was made for a person in crisis inside a business who refused to leave the premises. Police reportedly arrived at the scene around 5:18 PM and arrested the person and transported them for detention. While in detention, the person lost consciousness. They were taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Four BEI investigators have been assigned to examine the death.

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).

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