The Winnipeg police officers who shot and killed a man who stabbed an officer in the throat will not face charges, according to Manitoba’s police watchdog.
On Friday — more than a year after the shooting — the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) closed its investigation, saying the civilian director will not be authorizing charges.
“In reviewing the evidence available, the civilian director is of the opinion that the subject officers were reasonable in their actions,” the IIU said in its report. “The subject officers did not commit a criminal offence in this tragic incident.”
The shooting happened on the evening of Nov. 24, 2024, at a bus shelter near the Unicity Shopping Centre. According to police, one officer was stabbed in the throat by a man who was then shot by officers.
A 20-second video recorded by a witness captured the shooting. According to the IIU, the officers can be seen with their guns pointed at a man standing in the bus shelter. The IIU said the officers can be heard telling the man to “put it down, man” and “drop it,” before the man starts moving towards the officers.
That’s when the IIU said the video captured multiple gunshots being fired and the man drops to the ground.
The man was taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries. Autopsy reports confirmed the man died of multiple gunshot wounds and found he had methamphetamine in his blood at the time.
In the wake of the shooting, IIU investigators also spoke with two witness officers and six civilian witnesses, as well as reviewing security video, including a 20-second video recorded by a civilian.
The IIU said the subject officers declined to be interviewed for the investigation but provided notes and a statement.
The officers said they were responding to a report of shoplifting at the Walmart when they spotted the suspect in the bus loop area. When one of the officers grabbed the man’s arm to arrest him, he said the man punched him in the neck, causing him to fall to the curb.
It was only when the second officer saw blood coming from his partner’s neck that he realized he had been stabbed.
The officers said the man retreated to the bus shelter and pulled out a hatchet while still holding an Exacto knife in his other hand. The officer said they gave multiple orders to drop the weapons but said when the man started coming towards them, they fired multiple rounds at the man’s chest.
The IIU said the officer’s stab wound missed major arteries and was glued shut at hospital.
The full report can be found online.
