WINNIPEG, Sep.27, 2004
CBC Manitoba

Winnipeg's Sikh community is reeling after the apparent suicide of a Winnipeg police officer over the weekend.

Sukhvir Brar, who was on duty, was found slumped over the wheel of his cruiser in a remote area of northwestern Winnipeg Saturday morning. He had been shot, apparently by his own hand.

Kuljit Bhadhal, a friend of Brar's family, says the man was a pillar in the Sikh community.

"It's very, very sad," he says. "He was a great guy, very active. He was always for social service for the community, and always in the temple for the services everywhere. He's a great helper for the community."

Tarsem Singh Cheema, who worked as a taxi cab driver with Brar for years, says Brar was a shining example of a successful immigrant. He says Brar was dedicated and tenacious, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a police officer in India. It took Brar five years to get into the police service.

"What he did for us – we are second generation Sikhs – for what he did we are proud," says Cheema. "The way he is gone is a big question mark for the community."

Brar's body was found on Templeton Avenue, not far from where the Sikh Society of Manitoba meets and worships. Society spokesman spokesman Hakam Singh Johal says the officer went to his temple only hours before his body was discovered.

"He was just coming from the church itself. He met the priest over there, and didn't say anything to anybody," he says.

"This is a surprise for everyone – he was not that kind of person," he adds. "We don't know why this happened. He never said anything to his wife, never said anything to his parents."

Johal says a memorial service will be held after the family holds a funeral. The funeral is not yet scheduled; family members here are waiting for relatives to arrive from India.

• Officer chastised by judge •

Police say Brar, 41, had been on the force for 10 years. Chief Jack Ewatski says Brar won the respect of co-workers and peers for his dedication, tenacity, and positive work ethic.

However, earlier this month, Brar made headlines after a judge chastised him and his partner for breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they questioned a woman who was alleged to be carrying drugs without reading her her rights.

Brar was also the subject of an internal review in 2000. He was part of a team that shut down a pizzeria for by law infractions; meanwhile, he was co-owner of a pizza place in the same neighbourhood.

Brar was cleared of any wrongdoing, but that review prompted the police service to make new rules on what kinds of businesses officers can run in their spare time.

• Fellow officers on administrative leave •

No one knows if there's any connection between those incidents and Brar's suicide. Police spokesman Const. Bob Johnson says the entire police service is in mourning wondering what, if anything, could have been done to prevent Brar's death.

"I am certain that there are things they felt, or that they feel, that they might have or could have done, and that will be something that they will deal with through counselling," he says, adding that the officers who found Brar very distraught and have been placed on administrative leave.

Johnson says Brar is the third city police officer who has taken his own life in the past 15 years.

"It's something that you can't explain, and there's very little that an organization or a group of people can do about it," says Johnson. "People have a tendency to internalize things like this. It's a difficult situation."

Manitoba Attorney General Gord Mackintosh noted the tragedy Sunday while speaking at a memorial honouring police officers who have died on duty.