Watchdog releases final report on collision between police cruiser and fleeing suspect

Manitoba's police watchdog has released its full report on a 2018 incident where a man accused a Winnipeg Police Service officer of deliberately hitting him with a cruiser car as he fled to avoid arrest.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba cleared the officer of wrongdoing in March, but didn't release the full report because charges were still pending against the complainant, Kyle Malanchuk.

The report was released now because Malanchuk, 26, was killed in August.

On Aug. 22, Malanchuk was found shot in a house on Pritchard Avenue. The 26-year-old was taken to hospital in critical condition and died shortly after. His death marked Winnipeg's 27th homicide of 2019.

Collision 'unavoidable and accidental'

Malanchuk told the IIU he was walking in the area of Salter Street and Alfred Avenue at 1 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2018, when police tried to stop him because there was a warrant for his arrest. He said he took off running, and was being chased by one officer on foot while another drove the police car.

Malanchuk said as he was running across the street, he saw the police car driving toward him. As he made the boulevard, he said, the cruiser turned the corner and hit him, running him over with both passenger side tires.

However, the police watchdog found no evidence that the officer behind the wheel intentionally drove the cruiser at Malanchuk, ran him over or intended to harm him, IIU civilian director Zane Tessler wrote in his final report.

"I am satisfied that the evidence gathered supports the singular conclusion that the collision between [Malanchuk] and the police cruiser operated by [the officer] was unavoidable and accidental," Tessler wrote.

Malanchuk's medical report from when he was taken to hospital that day with a fractured pelvis and a pelvic artery hemorrhage said he was struck by a police car travelling under 20 km/h while running from officers. The attending physician who treated him was unable to comment on whether Malanchuk's injuries were caused by him being struck or run over by a car.

The physician said while Malanchuk was notforthcoming with information while being treated, the doctor did recall him saying he had been hitby a vehicle but not that he had been run over.

'Not even doing half of 50 km/h'

A civilian witness told the IIU he saw the police cruiser moving slowly, "not even doing half of 50 km/h" when he saw Malanchuk dash out in front of the car that day. The witness said the actions of the officer driving the vehicle didn't seem like those of someone trying to run over another person. He said the cruiser was stopping, and not "screaming up" on Malanchuk.

The witness said Malanchuk appeared to run intoa fence and bounce back onto the boulevard, at which time it appeared the police cruiser ran over him on the front passenger side. He said at that point, he assumed Malanchukwas under the car because he did not start running again.

As part of its investigation, the IIU consulted the officer who was driving the car, the officer who was chasing Malanchuk on foot and the officer who was their shift supervisor that day.

The unit also attempted to retrieve forensic information, but the cruiser's data recorder was not downloaded and the traffic services unit was not called to the scene because the incident "did not appear traumatic or severe," the report said.

The IIU determined there was "no malicious intent" by the officers involved in this regard.

"While it would be desirable to have the forensic evidence and analysis available to IIU, its absence had no material effect on the quality of the investigation or the conclusions made," the report read.