Latest news with #IndependentInvestigationUnit
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Death of man during well-being call on Winnipeg riverbank 'tragic,' but police acted reasonably: inquest
Social Sharing The inquest into the death of a man who went into cardiac arrest while police were responding to a well-being call near Winnipeg's riverwalk has determined police and medical personnel acted reasonably during the incident, and there was nothing they could have done differently to save the man. Aaron Ross, 27, died on Sept. 30, 2019, several days after he suffered cardiac arrest on the riverbank. An autopsy confirmed he died from an anoxic brain injury — a lack of oxygen to the brain — due to complications of the cardiac arrest, which in turn was the result of methamphetamine toxicity, according to an inquest report dated July 15. However, the report also identifies the "physiological stress of struggle and restraint by police" as a "significant" contribution to his death. An inquest into his death was called in June 2021 after the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, the province's police watchdog agency, cleared the officers who treated him during a well-being call of any wrongdoing. In the final inquest report, provincial court Judge Sandra Chapman said Ross's death was a "tragic incident," adding that "unfortunately, these types of incidents are more and more prevalent" in Manitoba. However, she made no recommendations to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future. "The police officers and the paramedics all performed in accordance with the relevant policies and their training. Their actions were reasonable in the circumstances," Chapman wrote in the 31-page report. Taken to ground, handcuffed Winnipeg police responded to a well-being call just before 1 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2019, after getting a call about a naked man behaving erratically on the riverbank near Assiniboine Avenue and Kennedy Street, close to the Manitoba Legislative Building. People living in the area told police they saw Ross take his clothes off and said he was yelling nonsensically before he fell backwards, hitting his head on what appeared to be the curb of the riverwalk, the inquest report said. Officers told the inquest they found Ross lying on his back, yelling randomly, and as they approached, he stood up and started walking toward the river. The officers testified they feared for his safety, and tried to bring him down to the ground. After a struggle, they got him down on the ground, face-down, and handcuffed him. He continued to flail around while on the ground, the inquest heard. Paramedics were called due to concern Ross's behaviour suggested he could be having a medical event. The first medic to arrive was unable to calm him down, so he was sedated. Ross later became unresponsive and he was resuscitated before being taken to St. Boniface Hospital, where he died a week later. Manitoba's chief medical examiner also initially said Ross's death was due in part to "excited delirium" — a term the inquest notes Winnipeg police have stopped using because "it is in fact a medical term and one that they may not be clinically trained to determine," the inquest report says. A situation such as Ross's is now called "an agitated chaotic event," the report says. Evidence at the inquest suggested Winnipeg police followed the appropriate protocols, including calling for paramedics and only intervening when Ross's safety was in question, and over the shortest amount of time possible, Chapman said. However, she noted there was a gap between the response time of police and medics. "I cannot say in this case that the attendance of the advanced care paramedic with the police would have made a difference, but possibly it may have," she said.
CBC
6 days ago
- CBC
No charges for Manitoba RCMP officers who Tasered man, stood on his chest after he resisted arrest: watchdog
Social Sharing Manitoba's police watchdog will not recommend prosecuting two Mounties — one of whom used a stun gun nine times and another who stood on a suspect's chest — for the actions they took to subdue a man who was resisting arrest in a northern community earlier this year. One of the Mounties maintained the man could breathe, even though he yelled that he couldn't as he continued to struggle and resist the officers, according to a report released Tuesday by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba. The incident leading to the arrest happened on Jan. 31 in Mosakahiken Cree Nation, about 475 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. A few days later, Moose Lake RCMP reported it to the IIU, which investigates all serious incidents involving police in the province. RCMP responded to a disturbance call on Trader's Lake Road at about 4:30 a.m. that day and were told a man had assaulted a woman and wouldn't leave the residence. The man barricaded himself inside and resisted arrest once Mounties arrived, RCMP said at the time, and they subsequently used a Taser on him. The man was charged with four counts of assault causing bodily harm, assault while choking, probation violation, and two counts each of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. A video circulating on social media at the time appeared to show a Mountie standing on the chest of a man lying on the ground next to a truck. The RCMP later confirmed the video was taken during the arrest in question. WATCH | Mountie stands on man during arrest (January 2025): Video shows Manitoba RCMP officer standing on man during arrest 5 months ago In its final report, the police watchdog agency described a portion of the video as showing two Mounties trying to gain control of the man using force. The video shows one Mountie standing on the man's stomach and chest while his hands are cuffed behind his back. The man told IIU investigators he did try to block the officers from entering before trying to slip out a window. That's where Mounties "grabbed him, slammed him to the ground and started handcuffing him," according to the account the man gave to the investigators. He also told the unit he was Tasered twice inside by one Mountie and five times outside by another. The man said he had consumed two dozen Twisted Tea alcoholic drinks that evening but "was not severely intoxicated." A witness told the investigation unit they saw the man smoke an unknown substance before assaulting a woman. The victim told investigators the man was drunk and high on cocaine before he attacked her. 'Exhausting fight' The witness said she hit the man with a board in an attempt to stop the attack, and she and two others at the residence had to physically restrain the man before police arrived. That same witness told investigators the man failed to comply and started fighting Mounties when they told him to get on the floor because he was under arrest. The man got loose as he was being dragged out and proceeded to fight them again, according to the IIU. One of the Mounties stood on top of the man for about 15 minutes while waiting for a third officer to arrive, the witness told investigators. The victim estimated the scuffle with police took about 20 minutes before a third officer arrived. That Mountie said by the time he arrived, his two peers appeared to be "exhausted" from trying to restrain the man, so he helped shackle the man's leg and load him into the cruiser. The two Mounties involved in arresting, Tasering and standing on the man declined to be interviewed by the investigative unit, but they provided written information, including use of force reports, that mirror some elements of what witnesses told investigators. One officer's report said the man would've probably gotten away were it not for the use of a stun gun, which allowed them to cuff the man. Because both of them were exhausted, one Mountie reported the only way he could assist his peer was by standing on the man's chest. Actions 'reasonable': IIU That officer's report said that the man said he couldn't breathe, but the Mountie determined the man's "breathing was not affected as he was yelling extremely loud throughout," according to the IIU's report. Hospital records show the man who was arrested had contusions to his face and injured his right eye, though no fractures appeared during an X-ray, the report states. Data recovered from the stun gun of one officer indicated it was fired nine times, with eight connecting with the man. Bruce M. Sychuk, the acting civilian director for the Independent Investigation Unit, decided against recommending charges against the two Mounties. "The optics of an officer standing on an accused without the background evidence would be concerning on the face of it," Sychuk wrote in his report. "However, with the evidence of an extended and exhausting fight between a resisting offender and the officers, the actions of the subject officers were reasonable in the circumstances." The investigation is now closed.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man critically injured in fall down stairs during arrest, Winnipeg police say
WARNING: This story includes reference to self-harm. Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating after Winnipeg police say a man handcuffed by officers for his own safety fell down stairs in a St. Boniface apartment block Thursday and was hospitalized in critical condition. Officers were called to an apartment on the 200 block of Bertrand Street, between Taché Avenue and Enfield Crescent, just before 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a report a suicidal man in his 60s was armed with an edged weapon, according to a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service. The man spoke to officers through the door but refused to come out, threatening to take his own life, police said. Winnipeg police crisis negotiation and tactical support teams — as well as mental health clinicians from the city's alternative response to citizens in crisis, or ARCC, team — were called to the apartment after police deemed the incident an armed and barricaded situation. The man came out of the suite after about two hours of communicating with police. He was handcuffed for his own safety, but broke free from officers and fell down a staircase as he was being led down, according to police. He was seriously injured in the fall and taken by ambulance to hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of early Friday afternoon, police said in their news release. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, the province's police watchdog agency, has been notified about the injury and has taken over the investigation into the incident, the news release said. If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to look for help:
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man critically injured in fall down stairs during arrest, Winnipeg police say
WARNING: This story includes reference to self-harm. Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating after Winnipeg police say a man handcuffed by officers for his own safety fell down stairs in a St. Boniface apartment block Thursday and was hospitalized in critical condition. Officers were called to an apartment on the 200 block of Bertrand Street, between Taché Avenue and Enfield Crescent, just before 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a report a suicidal man in his 60s was armed with an edged weapon, according to a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service. The man spoke to officers through the door but refused to come out, threatening to take his own life, police said. Winnipeg police crisis negotiation and tactical support teams — as well as mental health clinicians from the city's alternative response to citizens in crisis, or ARCC, team — were called to the apartment after police deemed the incident an armed and barricaded situation. The man came out of the suite after about two hours of communicating with police. He was handcuffed for his own safety, but broke free from officers and fell down a staircase as he was being led down, according to police. He was seriously injured in the fall and taken by ambulance to hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of early Friday afternoon, police said in their news release. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, the province's police watchdog agency, has been notified about the injury and has taken over the investigation into the incident, the news release said. If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to look for help:
CBC
11-07-2025
- CBC
Man critically injured in fall down stairs during arrest, Winnipeg police say
Social Sharing WARNING: This story includes reference to self-harm. Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating after Winnipeg police say a man handcuffed by officers for his own safety fell down stairs in a St. Boniface apartment block Thursday and was hospitalized in critical condition. Officers were called to an apartment on the 200 block of Bertrand Street, between Taché Avenue and Enfield Crescent, just before 7:30 p.m. Thursday with a report a suicidal man in his 60s was armed with an edged weapon, according to a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service. The man spoke to officers through the door but refused to come out, threatening to take his own life, police said. Winnipeg police crisis negotiation and tactical support teams — as well as mental health clinicians from the city's alternative response to citizens in crisis, or ARCC, team — were called to the apartment after police deemed the incident an armed and barricaded situation. The man came out of the suite after about two hours of communicating with police. He was handcuffed for his own safety, but broke free from officers and fell down a staircase as he was being led down, according to police. He was seriously injured in the fall and taken by ambulance to hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of early Friday afternoon, police said in their news release. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, the province's police watchdog agency, has been notified about the injury and has taken over the investigation into the incident, the news release said.
