Watchdog investigating after man shot dead by Winnipeg police
Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating after officers shot and killed a man in a Winnipeg neighbourhood on Friday.
A statement said the Winnipeg Police Service initially responded to a 911 call about a man behaving suspiciously in the back lane in the 200-block of Ferry Road.
Police said the man was "covered in blood" and the caller was concerned he was trying to break into homes.
Officers found him "armed with a screwdriver" behind a home at 6:16 p.m.
"A use of force encounter occurred and unfortunately resulted in our members shooting the individual," said Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers, who called a rare weekend news conference to speak about the incident on Saturday.
He said the officers provided medical care on site until paramedics arrived, but the man later died in hospital.
"Incidents such as that occurred last night, they have an impact on everybody. This is a loss of life, this is a serious incident. It's serious for the person and family involved and also for our members as well," Bowers said.
Bowers said the man had been behaving "erratically," but did not provide details.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) confirmed it is now investigating, but a statement did not provide further information on the incident.
The police chief said the IIU was in the process of identifying the man and notifying his family, so he could not speak to his age or whether he was from Winnipeg. He did say he believed the man was an adult.
Bowers said the officers, who he met with on Friday night, will be "out of the workplace" in line with the department's critical incident protocol.
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