Manitoba police watchdog investigates man who died after being restrained by Winnipeg police
Witnesses question whether police response to man, 35, was excessive
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating the death of a 35-year-old man who died after he was restrained by Winnipeg police on the weekend.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates all serious matters involving police, has taken over the investigation. In a news releaseMonday, the IIU said it will askthe Manitoba Police Commission to also appoint a civilian monitor.
Under provincial legislation, acivilian is tapped for that position to monitor the progress of particularIIU investigations where the death of a person may have resulted from police officer actions.
The update comes one day after Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth notified the public of an incidentinvolving a woman who called police just after midnight on Saturday. She told police her boyfriend, 35, was intoxicated and she was worried for the safety of her three children inside their apartmenton Fairlane Avenue.
The IIU said police were called thereafter reports of a man acting erratically.
During the Sunday news conference, Smyth said as police were on their way to investigate, the woman called back after fleeing to another suite and said her boyfriend had fallen down the stairs of their second-floor suite. She told police he was lying in the snow at the base of the stairs.
Smyth said another call came in from someone else saying the man had wandered into the parking lot but had fallen to the ground.
Police told the IIU that officers found the man in the parking lot, "where a brief use of force encounter occurred while he was being handcuffed," according to the IIU news release on Monday.
Police told the IIU that the man "became unresponsive" while he was being taken to a police cruiser. He was rushed to Grace Hospital, then transferred to Health Sciences Centre.
Winnipeg police notified the IIU on Sunday that the man had died in hospital.
Several witnesses told CBC News over the weekend they felt police used excessive force in restraining the man. Several also shared video of what transpired.
WATCH|Video of man on ground while Winnipeg police threaten use of Taser:
A neighbour named Pete,who says he also called police about a disturbance, told CBC News he told a 911 operator the man appeared to have passed out while outside and needed help.
He was lying on his back in the snow when officers arrived and used force in a way that escalated the incident, according to Pete.
"They just kept beating him," said Pete, who CBC News is only identifying by first name because he fears for his safety. "He actually at one point reached out his hand,and he says, 'please stop.'"
Pete said by the time the man was in handcuffs he was "still."
An autopsy was expected to take place Monday.
On Sunday, Smyth confirmed a struggle occurred and said police decided to restrain and handcuff the man.
"Certainly they'll account for why they did that and what occurred leading up to that but that'll be up to IIU to determine," he said.
A former police chief in Canada said Smyth should've comeprepared to provide more details.
"I am not necessarily enamoured by the comments from the chief of police, I think he probably should've had more particulars regarding this incident," saidKash Heed, a city councillor in Richmond, B.C., who served as chief of the West Vancouver Police Departmentfrom 2007 to 2009.
Need for body cameras, saysHeed
Heed, who also previously served asB.C.'s solicitor general and spent 32 years in policing, watched the videos available publicly thus far.
He noted they don't show the entire interaction between the police and the man.
Heed saidit's an example of why police body-worn cameras are important.
He started advocating for the use of the technologywhilehe was police chief because they are "absolutely important" for helping investigators determine what happened in some cases.
"We've got this culture within policing that they think if we're being watched for everything we do, we're going to be criticized," said Heed.
"I look at it the other wayif you're being watched for everything you're doing and you're doing it as you're trained to do, you're doing it within the laws here in Canada, you will actually have full justification for that."
CBC News invited Winnipeg police to respond to Heed's comments but did immediately hear back.
Winnipeg city Coun. Markus Chambers, who is chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, believes body cameras could provide more transparency in cases like this.
"I think body-worn cameras will provide some context in terms of the police interaction and provide greater clarity in terms of those interactions that occur that have this type of result," he said.
Chambers said body-worn cameras will be discussed with Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe at a meeting next week.
The IIU is asking witnesses or anyone with video footage of the interaction between the man and police to contact itsinvestigators at1-844-667-6060.
With files from Gavin Axelrod and Alana Cole
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