Protesters Attack Motorist Who Drove Into Their March for Woman Killed by Police Car

A Winnipeg Police Service shoulder badge is seen on Sept. 2, 2021 at the Public Information Office. The Canadian Press/David Lipnowski

Demonstrators protesting the death of a woman hit by a Winnipeg police car on Sept. 2 responded violently after a speeding car drove into their downtown protest on Sept. 4.

The demonstrators were drawing attention to an incident Monday night in Fort Rouge Park where a woman in her 30s was hit by a police car transporting someone to a river bank encampment. The woman was critically injured and died in hospital, police said. Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit, a civilian oversight agency that reviews incidents involving police, is looking into the death.

On Sept. 4, demonstrators were at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street, which police had blocked to limit vehicle access during their protest, when a car came speeding toward them.

A video posted on Instagram by Winnipeg cycling group Critical Mass shows the moment a burgundy car drives into the protest area at high speed, hitting the brakes before almost striking a cyclist. Demonstrators are seen retaliating by jumping on the car’s hood and throwing punches at the driver.

The car reverses and accelerates again, allegedly hitting the cyclist recording the video. Demonstrators are seen falling off the hood of the vehicle. Minutes later, the driver is seen getting out of the car, its windshield shattered by kicks from protesters. “The guy was going towards the group, and so a few of us with bikes tried to block [him] using our bikes,” said the cyclist recording the video, who declined to give her name. She said she had come to support the protest but was not involved in its organization.

“I put my bike in front of me, and then he ran over my bike,” she added. “I stepped out of the way, but I did fall.” The incident occurred at approximately 12:23 p.m., according to a Winnipeg Police Service news release. The driver remained at the scene, while protesters involved in the incident left before officers arrived. “The WPS is investigating an incident which occurred between a motorist and several protesters early this afternoon at the intersection of Main and Portage during a planned protest,” police wrote on the X platform. No arrests have been made.