Winnipeg officer cleared in shooting death of man who was in mental health crisis

WINNIPEG — Alberta's police watchdog has cleared a Winnipeg officer of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of a 19-year-old university student who armed himself with knives while in the throes of a mental health crisis.

An investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team found that the officer acted reasonably when he shot the man three times after the man ran at officers responding to a wellness check call.

The report said two officers responded to a call about someone acting erratically at an apartment near the University of Manitoba on Dec. 31, 2023, and were confronted by a man holding two kitchen knives.

A lawyer for the family previously identified the man as Afolabi Stephen Opaso, an undergraduate economics student from Nigeria.

Investigators relied on interviews wit