Judge says Nunavut man shot by Winnipeg police was in a ‘truly sad’ situation in the days before his death

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

The man shot and killed by Winnipeg police earlier this week was from Nunavut and is being remembered as a proud Inuk who craved connection and needed help to overcome his violent past.

Jordan Charlie, 24, was released from custody in Manitoba on November 19 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and three other related charges in connection with incidents that took place this year – court records reviewed by CBC News reveal.

An Inuk from Taloyoak, Nunavut, was brought to Manitoba to serve his sentence at the Stony Mountain Institution north of Winnipeg, a court heard, after he was sentenced to 4.5 years in federal prison in September 2019 in connection with two unprovoked attacks that occurred in Yellowknife earlier this year.

Charlie’s mother confirmed to CBC News that this was the person fatally shot by police at a bus stop in the parking lot of Unicity Shopping Center in Winnipeg on Sunday evening.

Lucy Angnakok, who met Charlie while working at the Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Center in Winnipeg, said she last contacted him during his recent stay in prison and brought him the Inuit food he requested.

He mentioned to Angnakok that he wanted to seek drug treatment and get a job, but she also remembers that he was proud that he knew the Inuktitut language and connected with other Inupiat in Winnipeg, she said.

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

“I always reminded him that when he was ready, I was here to help, but unfortunately that never came. Just like he was never ready.”

Winnipeg police said Charlie had a sharp weapon but did not drop it when officers told him to video posted on social media shows him taking a few steps towards the officers before they shoot him.

Police say he stabbed another officer in the neck before drawing his gun.

Manitoba’s Independent Criminal Investigation Unit, which investigates all serious policing cases in the province, is currently investigating Charlie’s murder.

Series of charges in Winnipeg

Last week, Catherine Rogers, Charlie’s defense attorney, told Manitoba Provincial Court Judge Don Slough that there was no option for him to return to Nunavut after his release from Stony Mountain.

“He was basically stuck in Winnipeg for about a year,” she said. “He was transient at the time. He either slept outdoors or stayed in a shelter. There are no resources or support here.”

The court heard Charlie was charged with aggravated assault after slashing the hand of a security guard at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Center in February. When he was placed on the resuscitation bed in the hospital, he was under the influence of alcohol and pulled a knife from his pants.

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

Three months later, Charlie was riding his bike in the Seven Oaks neighborhood when he fled from police officers investigating a stabbing nearby. He was charged with violating a probation order after officers found a kitchen knife on him, she added.

Slough sentenced Charlie to six months, which he has already served, as well as 18 months of supervised release for the 2024 charges.

Rogers said Charlie will return to a homeless shelter upon his release, but he has contacted Manitoba’s public probation officer and other entities he can access after his release.

“The ultimate plan is to take him back to Nunavut,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is not very good family support there either.”

Charlie tried to take his own life while at Stony Mountain after “depression got the best of him,” Rogers said.

“The period in which his brain was deprived of oxygen has caused permanent brain damage and he has some memory problems,” Slough said.

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

“I suspect Mr. Charlie didn’t start out with the easiest upbringing and life, and now he’s done more damage as a result of his suicide attempt.”

The judge told Charlie that his probation officer would be notified of his release.

“I hope they will help you. Good luck, Mr. Charlie,” Slough said at the end of the hearing.

“Thank you,” Charlie replied quietly.

Charlie’s upbringing was marked by addiction, physical abuse, witnessing sexual violence, and the intergenerational effects of residential 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.

He has also self-harmed in the past. Charlie’s case management team described it as a “maladaptive and impulsive method of seeking connection and affirmation” when cared for by staff, which was likely due to a lack of caregivers during his childhood. the decision says.

“High level of impulsivity, instability”

The parole board said a psychiatric risk assessment conducted in 2022 found Charlie had chronic mental health problems and other conditions such as fetal alcohol use disorder, traumatic brain injury, intellectual disability and reduced cognitive function.

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

The board found that substance abuse was taking a toll on his mental health and he was using violence to deal with conflict.

The parole board also mentioned 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 decision said that in March 2019, Charlie randomly approached a stabbing victim in Yellowknife and stabbed the man in the neck with a four-inch curved knife.

Two months later, when Charlie was being held at the North Slave Penitentiary in Yellowknife for a stabbing, he turned to a guard as he was being escorted back to his cell after a video court hearing.

“You continued to punch the officer in the face more than 20 times, striking his head against the wall and causing him to fall to the ground. You attacked the victim repeatedly until help arrived,” the commission said, adding that the guard suffered physical and psychological injuries. it’s harmful.

After crediting time served while awaiting sentencing, Charlie had three years and eight months remaining on his sentence for two attacks.

The parole board revoked Charlie’s release and ordered him to remain in a halfway house at an undisclosed location for the last third of his sentence because it was “unsure” that his behavior in society would be “any different but uncontrollable.” “