WARNING: This story contains distressing details and mentions suicide.

Manitoba’s police watchdog says an RCMP officer who fatally shot a man armed with a knife in Sagkeeng First Nation last November had “no choice other than to discharge his firearm” at the man. 

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which investigates all serious matters involving police in the province, said in its final report dated last month that the officer’s decision was “reasonable in the circumstances” and it is not recommending charges against him. 

On Nov. 18, 2025, Powerview RCMP got a report about a man with a knife before the call disconnected, according to the initial notification from RCMP included in the IIU’s report. The call was traced to a home in Sagkeeng, located northeast of Winnipeg. 

Officers found the man there with a knife and he started advancing toward them with the weapon, police said. An officer fired their pistol at the man, who was taken to hospital and died of his injuries. 

The man’s friend — one of the six civilian witnesses who provided information to investigators — said the man was in a panic and acting “off” before the incident. Two witnesses, including this friend, said the man may have taken a hallucinogenic drug in the days before the fatal shooting. 

The friend told IIU investigators the man had been saying that people were out to get him, and that he wanted to kill himself. 

The witness said his friend went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife — about 12 inches long, according to the report — and held it to his own neck. The friend said he called police while trying to talk the man out of the situation, with the call eventually dropping. 

When police arrived, the man rushed down the porch toward the officers, his friend said. He recalled police saying “drop the knife” before an officer fired two shots, hitting the man. 

The involved officer’s partner told investigators that “everything happened so quickly” between the time the man exited the house and when his partner fired two shots.  

The witness officer said the man dropped to the ground and police kicked the knife away from him, before putting him in handcuffs. The witness officer said he saw two entry wounds on the man and called for an ambulance. 

The officer who shot the man declined to be interviewed, but provided his notes and report to investigators. 

The man died of the gunshot wounds, according to preliminary medical examiner results. However, the IIU said it had not received the final autopsy report at the time of publication. 

Based on the evidence presented to investigators, the watchdog’s acting civilian director Bruce Sychuk wrote “it was clear the subject officer had no choice other than to discharge his firearm at [the man].”

Sychuk said the officer made a “split-second decision,” calling the Mountie’s actions “reasonable in the circumstances.”

The IIU is not recommending charges for the officer and the investigation has been closed. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, here’s where to get help: