WINNIPEG - A long-promised investigation unit that allows civilian oversight of Manitoba police is now up and running.
The Independent Investigation Unit will examine any cases where deaths or serious incidents occur involving police officers, either on or off-duty.
Attorney General Gord Mackintosh says the change means police forces will no longer investigate their own members.
The unit includes seven investigators who are former officers, many of them from out of province.
It is led by a civilian -- former lawyer Zane Tessler, who says the unit will have broader powers than those in other provinces.
The unit was recommended in the 2008 public inquiry into the death of Crystal Taman, a Winnipeg woman who died when her car was rear-ended by an off-duty officer who had been out all night at a party.
