Fatal police shooting at Winnipeg apartment complex justified: Watchdog

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: May 20, 2025 4:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Manitoba's constabulary watchdog won't prosecute charges against a Winnipeg constabulary serviceman who fatally changeable an equipped antheral astatine an flat gathering connected Main Street.

The Independent Investigation Unit said Tuesday it won't authorize charges against the patrol serviceman successful transportation with the shooting astatine a Manitoba Housing building on Main Street past year.

Police changeable the antheral aft responding to multiple 911 calls astir a antheral swinging astir a weapon and banging connected suite doors astatine North Point Douglas Manor astir 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 2.

He was taken to infirmary and later died. 

The IIU's civilian manager said determination was nary tenable crushed for charges against responding officers, and the usage of lethal unit was justified.

The serviceman who changeable the antheral (called the taxable serviceman successful the IIU report), 4 different officers and 4 civilian witnesses provided accusation to the civilian director, the IIU's afloat study connected the decease says.

One civilian witnesser told the IIU the antheral had been continuously moving h2o connected his suite, causing flooding connected different floors. The witnesser went to the man's suite and recovered him yelling and screaming connected his bed.

The antheral told 2 different civilian witnesses that radical kept warring him and that "everyone was retired to get him," the study said.

A witnesser said the antheral told them helium wanted constabulary to instrumentality him away, and helium wanted to die.

One of the witnesses asked the antheral whether helium was suicidal and if helium would similar intelligence wellness assistance, but helium declined.

Man Tasered twice

Eventually 911 was called and dispatchers were told the antheral was equipped with 2 20-centimetre knives and was heard saying helium utilized meth and crack.

Three officers who attended the country — including the serviceman who changeable the antheral — said they agreed to instrumentality the elevator to the 5th level and past locomotion up the stairs to the seventh, wherever the antheral with the knives was.

An serviceman with a Taser said the serviceman who changeable the antheral instructed him to beryllium non-lethal screen portion helium provided lethal cover.

The serviceman with the Taser said he saw the antheral holding a weapon and grazing oregon knocking connected a suite doorway erstwhile they got to the seventh floor.

The officer said helium told the antheral to driblet the weapon, but the antheral ignored him. He was moving toward constabulary erstwhile the serviceman deployed the Taser twice.

The serviceman who fired his gun said successful a connection that the antheral was swinging his knives. The different witnesser serviceman said the antheral was moving toward them successful a threatening manner.

The officers said the antheral was not incapacitated aft getting Tasered, and that helium continued to determination forward. It was past that the serviceman equipped with a gun fired.

The taxable serviceman said the antheral was astir six feet distant from him erstwhile helium changeable him.

Forensic investigators recovered 2 knives and 4 spent slug casings connected the scene, arsenic good arsenic grounds of Taser deployment, the IIU report said.

A civilian witnesser said video corroborated the officers' accounts of the incident.

On the video, the antheral held 2 knives portion moving toward the police in an "aggressive manner," and helium was successful precise adjacent proximity erstwhile helium was changeable and fell to the ground, the witnesser said.

Toxicology reports recovered the antheral had methamphetamine and amphetamine connected his system.

The preliminary origin of decease was gunshot wounds to the thorax area.