Manitoba officers charged in just 2% of all police-involved deaths since 2015

Annual reports on IIU investigations missing for last three years, website often inaccessible to public.

3 Sep 2026 • 11 min read

Elias Whitehead is smiling. He has a short beard and is wearing a black hat.

Elias Whitehead, 37, is one of several people whose police-involved death did not result in charges against officers in Manitoba. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has absolved officers of wrongdoing in 98 per cent of police-involved deaths since 2015, with death-related charges last laid almost nine years ago. (Supplied/Jody Beardy)

Sav Jonsa

Sav Jonsa is a Winnipeg-based journalist focused on Indigenous affairs. They see journalism as a tool for bringing colonial powers to account and continuing their ancestors’ fight against corruption.

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