All criminal charges against a man who was shot and wounded by RCMP in Manitoba have been dropped.
Twenty-one-year-old Evan Cromarty was shot by an RCMP officer in the shoulder last July in Norway House.
He was being pursued by police on a series of offences when he ran into a field where a baseball tournament was being held.
Eyewitnesses says Cromarty’s hands were up and he was unarmed when he was shot. Some people captured part of the incident on cellphone video.
“When I see the video of an unarmed young man with no one around, no one in danger of harm, and that man is shot, I find that very disturbing obviously,” said Jody Ostapiw, Cromarty’s lawyer.
Evan Cromarty was shot by an RCMP officer on Sunday in Norway House Cree Nation. (Facebook)
Cromarty was facing charges of aggravated assault, break-and-enter and four counts of uttering threats.
Ostapiw doesn’t believe the charges were dropped because of the shooting. She said the Crown didn’t believe it had enough for a conviction.
“It’s not an acknowledgement in any way shape or form that they believe the officer some how did wrong,” she said. “The two aren’t related.”
Ostapiw was asked if she thought the shooting was motivated by racism. She said she doesn’t know, but added, “the concern obviously is that you have RCMP officers in these smaller aboriginal communities and what is happening in these communities could certainly be viewed by some individuals to be motivated by racism at times.”
Cromarty still has some pain and limited mobility in his arm as a result of the shooting, according to Ostapiw.
“I am just happy that my client is alive, and his injuries aren’t more serious, and he is able to move forward, and this incident was one where there was a very unfortunate incident and I am glad he had no criminal convictions resulting from this incident.”
A team of investigators from Alberta is looking into the shooting as an independent body.
It’s not known when a report will be released.
