Judge says Nunavut man shot by Winnipeg police days before his death is in ‘truly distressing’ situation

Warning: This story contains details of suicide attempts and violence.

A Nunavut man shot and killed by Winnipeg police earlier this week is being remembered as a proud Inuk who longed for connection and needed help overcoming his violent past.

Court records were reviewed by CBC News; Jordan Charlie, 24, was released from custody in Manitoba on Nov. 19 after pleading guilty to assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and three other charges related to incidents that occurred this year. uncover.

The court heard that the Inuk man from Taloyoak, Nunavut, was brought to Manitoba to serve his sentence at Stony Mountain Institution, north of Winnipeg. Sentenced to 4½ years in federal prison in September 2019 for two unprovoked attacks that occurred in Yellowknife earlier that year.

Charlie’s mother confirmed to CBC News that it was him Shot dead by police at the bus stop Sunday night in the parking lot of Unicity Mall in Winnipeg.

Lucy Angnakok, who met Charlie through her work at the Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Center in Winnipeg, said she last heard from him during his incarceration and brought him the Inuit food he wanted.

He told Angnakok that he wanted to get treatment for drug addiction and find a job, but he also remembered that Angnakok was proud to speak some Inuktitut and connect with other Inuks in Winnipeg.

“I think he was fiercely independent. He knew he needed help, but he would often say he would wait until he was ready,” Angnakok said.

“I was always reminding him that I was here to help when he was ready and unfortunately that never happened. Like, he was never ready.”

Winnipeg police said Charlie had a bladed weapon but did not drop it after officers told him to. video shared on social media It shows him taking several steps towards officers before shooting them.

Police said he stabbed another officer in the neck before guns were drawn.

The Manitoba Independent Investigations Unit, which investigates all serious matters involving police in the province, is currently investigating Charlie’s murder.

Series of accusations in Winnipeg

Last week, Charlie’s defense attorney, Catherine Rogers, told Manitoba provincial court Judge Don Slough that there was no way he could return to Nunavut after his release from Stony Mountain.

“He’s been stuck in Winnipeg for about a year,” he said. “He was transient during this time. He was either sleeping a lot or staying at the shelter. He didn’t have any resources or support here.”

Court heard Charlie was charged with assault with a weapon after cutting a security guard’s hand with a knife at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Center in February. When he was placed on a resuscitation bed at the hospital, he was drunk and pulled a knife from his trousers.

He was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in late April after he refused to get off a transit bus at the end of its route in downtown Winnipeg and police officers found a seven-inch retractable saw in Charlie’s pants pocket. said Rogers.

Three months later, Charlie said he was charged with violating his probation after officers found a kitchen knife on him while he was riding his bike in the Seven Oaks neighborhood while running from officers investigating a nearby stabbing.

Slough sentenced Charlie to six months of time already served and 18 months of probation for the charges in 2024.

Rogers said Charlie will return to a homeless shelter upon his release, but has connected with Manitoba’s public trustees and other supports he can access when he gets out.

“The ultimate plan is to get him back to Nunavut,” he said. “Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of good family support there either.”

Rogers said Charlie tried to end his life while at Stony Mountain “after depression got the better of him.”

“The time his brain was deprived of oxygen has caused permanent brain damage and he has some problems with his memory,” he told Slough.

“It’s really sad,” Slough said at the end of the hearing.

“I suspect Mr Charlie did not have the easiest upbringing or start in life and now there is further damage as a result of a suicide attempt.”

The judge told Charlie that the public trustee would be notified of his release.

“I hope they can help you out a bit, so good luck, Mr. Charlie,” Slough said at the end of the hearing.

“Thank you,” Charlie replied quietly.

Charlie’s upbringing; marred by addictions, physical violence, witnessing sexual violence, as well as the intergenerational effects of boarding and day schools. He was also sent to various group homes and foster homes, according to a 2023 decision by the Parole Board of Canada.

Charlie also had a history of self-harm, which the case management team described as “a maladaptive and impulsive way of seeking connection and approval” as he was cared for by staff, which was likely due to a lack of carers in his childhood. says decision.

‘High level of impulsivity, instability’

The parole board found in a psychiatric risk assessment in 2022 that Charlie had chronic mental health issues and other conditions such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, intellectual disability and low cognitive function.

In its decision, the parole board told Charlie, “Your mental health contributes to high levels of impulsivity, instability, and contributes to your involvement in criminal activity.” he said.

The board said his substance abuse affected his mental health and he resorted to violence to deal with conflicts.

The parole board also outlined two separate attacks that led to Charlie being sent to Stony Mountain: He stabbed another man in the neck and later beat a prison guard.

The verdict stated that Charlie randomly approached the stabbing victim in Yellowknife in March 2019 and stabbed the man in the neck with a ten-inch curved knife.

Two months later, while Charlie was being held at Yellowknife’s Northern Slave Correctional Institution for the stabbing, he targeted a guard as he was being escorted back to his cell after a video court appearance.

“You continued to punch the officer in the face more than 20 times, hitting his head against the wall and causing him to fall to the ground. You repeatedly assaulted the victim until help arrived,” the board said, adding that the guard suffered physical and psychological pain. causes harm.

After giving credit for time served while awaiting sentencing, Charlie had three years and eight months left on his sentence for two assaults.

The parole board revoked Charlie’s statutory release and ordered him to remain in a rehabilitation center at an undisclosed location for the final third of his sentence, as they had “little confidence” that his behavior in society would be “different but unmanageable”. “