Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms are seeking Winnipeg Police Service records to determine why officers allegedly failed to attend a violent altercation at the University of Winnipeg despite receiving at least eight calls for help.The records are being sought on behalf of a professor challenging a decision by Manitoba's police oversight agency not to investigate his complaint over the police response to the Sept. 26, 2025 incident.The Justice Centre is withholding the professor's identity for privacy reasons and referring to him as David Martin.Martin attended a Spectrum Street Epistemology exercise at the university where participants were invited to examine the basis for their opinions on controversial issues, including whether “residential school denialism” is a barrier to reconciliation.Political scientist and former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson, who has written extensively about indigenous policy and residential schools, participated in the event.A group opposed to the exercise and Widdowson's participation was also present and a violent altercation subsequently broke out, according to the Justice Centre.Martin's complaint alleges at least eight calls were made to Winnipeg police between approximately 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., but officers did not arrive.Martin left the university at approximately 5 p.m.He subsequently filed a complaint alleging Winnipeg police knew about the event and failed to attend despite officers having been dispatched.Martin argues the alleged failure amounted to an abuse of authority involving differential treatment based on political belief or activity.The Law Enforcement Review Agency Commissioner declined to investigate, determining the complaint involved quality of service and was therefore outside the scope of The Law Enforcement Review Act..Martin sought a review of that decision and is now attempting to obtain police records as a preliminary step in the proceedings.Requests for the records have twice been rejected, first on Oct. 22, 2025, and again on June 19.The Justice Centre said Martin's complaint maintains multiple witnesses contacted police during the altercation and a dispatcher told one caller a police car would arrive “soon.”Lawyers argue the records could show how police handled the calls, whether officers were dispatched and why no officers ultimately appeared at the university.Justice Centre-funded lawyers maintain the documents are relevant to determining whether the conduct of any officers dispatched to the university constituted an abuse of authority.“Procedural fairness exists to ensure that the results of an investigation or quasi-judicial decision can be fairly relied upon with confidence; without it, the truth-seeking function of the complaint process is compromised,” constitutional lawyer Michelle Nguyen said.A review of the Commissioner's decision not to proceed with Martin's complaint is expected to be heard after the dispute over disclosure of the police records is resolved.
