Inquest hears from police officers on scene of fatal police shooting of teen

WINNIPEG – Two Winnipeg police officers described the minutes leading up to a high-speed car chase that saw a stolen vehicle jump a boulevard and ended with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old First Nations girl, on the second day of the inquest into her death. 

Eishia Hudson was shot on April 8, 2020, after police responded to reports of the robbery and chased a stolen Jeep. Court heard that the vehicle had “rammed” a police cruiser, as well as hit other cars during the pursuit before shots were fired.

An agreed statement of facts read aloud in court on Tuesday stated Eishia was driving the Jeep when three of the four people who were in the vehicle with her robbed a liquor store and one threatened to stab a security guard before taking off.

It said that a store employee reported the theft to police and described the suspects as Indigenous youth between the ages of 15 and 18.

The inquest heard police first noticed the Jeep in the area of the liquor store and began to follow it into a residential area. At the time, the vehicle was going 45 kilometres per hour and was obeying all signs on the road. 

The two officers continued to follow the vehicle into a cul-de-sac. The inquest heard that traffic was light and there were few pedestrians because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 

Sgt. Dustin Dreger testified that police pursuits can be initiated when someone is believed to have committed a criminal offence. 

He said the risk factors were low because traffic was light, the weather was good and the driver was not being reckless.

“We felt that we could safely apprehend,” Dreger, who was a constable at the time, told the inquest.

Dreger and his partner tried to stop the vehicle but the driver did not comply, the officer said. As the vehicle was trying to flee, it made contact with Dreger’s cruiser, or what has previously been described as rammed into the police car. 

“Do you agree with the term rammed?” asked inquest counsel Dayna Steinfeld. 

“That’s common police lingo … the impact was not significant,” Dreger responded but added that he considered it a form of aggression. 

The vehicle then made its way into a shopping complex parking lot where Dreger’s vehicle clipped the Jeep as it veered into the lot. Dreger said the driver continued to follow the rules of the road. The officer backed off due to safety concerns of being in a parking lot with pedestrians and slow-moving traffic. 

Dreger caught up with the Jeep as it fled onto a major road reaching speeds of 100 kilometres per hour, the agreed statement of facts said.  Officers were able to surround the vehicle after the driver jumped a boulevard, lost control and hit some vehicles. 

Dreger said the vehicle appeared to be moving forward when shots were fired, but he couldn’t say whether it was rolling forward or accelerating. 

The timing of the events came up during questioning. At the time, Winnipeg liquor stores were dealing with high-profile, violent thefts that occasionally resulted in employees or shoppers being assaulted. The stores have since implemented security measures that have decreased thefts. 

Sgt. Jeff Vincent, Dreger’s partner at the time, acknowledged these thefts were top of mind for officers, but said they did not dictate how police responded. “Public safety trumps all,” he told the inquest. 

The inquest is to look at whether systemic racism played a role in the death, because the suspects were identified as Indigenous, and whether the use of force was appropriate. It doesn’t assign blame, but a judge can issue recommendations to help prevent similar deaths.

Dreger and Vincent said they received cultural awareness training throughout their careers, but it was not specific to interactions Indigenous youth may have with police. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.