Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 23, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba LGCA 1822-RF-48322, LGCA 1822-RF-48503, LGCA 1822-RF-48504 BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY! DEADLINE: OCTOBER 23, 2025, MIDNIGHT DEADLINE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT hscmillionaire.com 204-253-5688 | 1-855-999-5688 2 0 2 5 SCAN TO ORDER TICKETS TO THE 112TH GREY CUP IN WINNIPEG! WIN W I N N E R S ! 3 MANITOBA’S police watchdog said no charges are recommended against po- lice officers in the death of a homeless woman who was run over at an encamp- ment in a small city park last year. The incident “was an unfortunate accident,” the Independent Investiga- tion Unit of Manitoba said in a report released Wednesday. “Therefore, no charges are recom- mended, and the IIU investigation is now completed and closed.” The woman was killed in Fort Rouge Park on Sept. 2, 2024. A man who spent years on the street with her told the Free Press the next day that her name was Tammy Bateman. The Winnipeg Police Service said last year that two officers were returning a man to the camp at 295 River Ave. when the collision happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. The IIU report noted the woman was lying on a gravel access road when she was hit and was dragged under the vehicle before becoming dis- lodged. The report noted it was dark at the time, with no artificial light, and that visibility was reduced on that part of the road because of a decline. “There is no expectation of a pedestrian laying down on the gravelled access road,” the report noted. “The fact that there was no artificial lighting to light up the surrounding areas is another factor.” Debris from the encampment also played a role in the collision, the report said. “The debris that was left on the side of the gravelled access road is dis- tracting when it is illuminated by the vehicle’s headlights, because it focuses your attention and reduces your night vision,” the report said. A homeless man told the IIU the ve- hicle was moving “a little slower than a walk” and that the woman was lying on her stomach. The officer driving the vehicle told the IIU in a written statement that the woman was wearing all black clothing. The other officer in the vehicle told the IIU in an interview that they had earlier identified two people in the encampment who had warrants for their arrest. They arrested a man and took him back to the encampment, where he asked to be dropped off at the entrance so he could go buy cigarettes. The officers decided to enter the park to arrest the other person, the officer told investigators. The vehicle was going about six kilometres per hour “just before the incident,” the report said. There is no GPS information to show exactly how fast the vehicle was going at the time “because the reading relies on cellular services, along with the vehicle moving at a certain rate of speed and distance to trigger another reading.” The autopsy determined Bateman died of blunt trauma. A toxicology report noted someone with that much ethanol in their system would be al- most unconscious “and potentially in a coma.” She also had methamphetamine in her system. Winnipeg police said they had no comment on the watchdog’s report. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872 PROUDLY CANADIAN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025 TODAY’S WEATHER MAINLY SUNNY. HIGH 7 — LOW 1 ARTS SARAH MCLACHLAN CONCERT REVIEW / C1 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS BABES IN ARMS Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara (left) plays with Margaret, held by mom Hannah James. Joining them is Julien, with mom, Brianna Boyse; and Rudy, with mom, Eleni Kirkikis. A website that highlights parenting advice is up and running as of Wednesday / A8 ADAM TREUSCH Officers who drove over woman in park at night won’t be charged T WO men are facing second-degree murder charges after a targeted shooting at a home in the Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach in June left a man dead and a woman killed simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. RCMP held a news conference Wednesday to announce arrests in the slayings of Melissa Julie Wilson, 41, and Sly Thibert, 29, near Sandy Bay, north of Victoria Beach, early on June 20. “At this time, we believe the male victim was targeted by the suspects, and that the female was killed for being at that specific residence in Victoria Beach when the suspects arrived,” Staff Sgt. Sean Grunewald said at Manitoba RCMP headquarters on Wednesday. Mitchell Johanson, 28, of Grand Marais, was arrested in Abbotsford, B.C., on Oct. 7, and has been brought back to Manitoba, RCMP said. Nathaniel More-Harrison, 31, from the Rural Municipality of St. Clem- ents, was arrested Wednesday in New Minas, N.S., and will return to the province for court. RCMP said they began tracking both men days after the shootings, and the accused and victims were acquainted, all residing in the Victoria Beach area, about 100 kilometres north of Winni- peg. While police wouldn’t say why Thi- bert was targeted, noting that it’s part of the ongoing investigation, his fami- ly told the Free Press the killings are related to a dispute about a dirt bike. Thibert was renting the guest house from the owner of the property at the time. Police wouldn’t reveal any motive Wednesday. Grunewald said investigators are confident people in Victoria Beach and Traverse Bay have additional information about the crime. “Now is the time to come forward and share with us what you know,” he said. “These homicides have deeply affected two grieving families and countless loved ones, and created concern for so many residents in the Victoria Beach area.” Court records show Johanson has prior convictions for weapon offences, mischief to property and impaired driving causing bodily harm. In March 2015, More-Harrison was convicted of robbery with a weapon and wearing a disguise with intent and sentenced in Steinbach provincial court to 18 months in jail, plus two years supervised probation. News about the arrests was well received. “Our prayers are answered. Many thanks to the RCMP for their hard work and diligence,” Wilson’s father, Kerby Friesen, said. SCOTT BILLECK ● HOMICIDE, CONTINUED ON A2 Pair dead ‘over a damn dirt bike’; RCMP appeal for public’s help Two arrests in Victoria Beach double homicide SUPPLIED Tammy Bateman NICOLE BUFFIE “VIRTUALLY unbreakable” glass panels are being installed at some bus shelters as part of a pilot project to reduce vandalism in Winnipeg. Work to install polycarbonate panels at 30 “high-use” shelters across the city is underway at a cost of $150,000. The material is 250 times more im- pact-resistant than safety glass and is used by several other transit systems in Canada, the city stated. Coun. Janice Lukes said the city was tired of constantly replacing shattered glass panels at bus shelters and though the polycarbonate version is 15 per cent more expensive to install than glass, it will save money in the long run. “The cost was getting exorbitant and this new stuff is virtually unbreak- able,” she said. Lukes, who is chairwoman of the public works committee, recently took a tour of a polycarbonate manufactur- ing plant in Winnipeg and pounded a pane with a sledgehammer. The mate- rial held up, she said. Winnipeg Transit crews have refit- ted three shelters with the material and repaired glass panels at 70 loca- tions in recent weeks, the city said. Transit communications officer Brandon Logan would not disclose the locations of the pilot shelters. In an email, he said the city wants to see how the panels hold up to daily wear- and-tear and does not want to make the shelters a target. The city will moni- tor the shelters over the next year to gauge their efficacy. If successful, the pilot could expand. Vandalism at bus shelters has grown in recent years, city data show. Statistics show 267 bus shelters were impacted by broken glass in 2021, fol- lowed by 361 in 2022, 305 in 2023 and 237 in 2024. The city spent $147,593.90 on replacement glass for bus shelters in 2024 alone. The city has 880 bus shelters, includ- ing 170 that are heated. The plan to test shatter-proof glass at shelters has long been in the works. Winnipeg Transit said it planned to test the polycarbonate panels at shelters in November 2023 but did not post a tender to buy the material until a year later. Shatter-proof panels installed at bus shelters to deter vandals ● SHELTERS, CONTINUED ON A2 ;