Man critically injured in fall down stairs during arrest, Winnipeg police say

CBC

11-07-2025

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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.