No charges laid after police use 'less lethal' shotgun on suspect: IIU
Manitoba's police watchdog agency has cleared the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) of any wrongdoing after a woman was injured during an arrest last spring.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) said in a news release Friday that it had concluded its investigation into an incident that took place the evening of March 22, 2022. Police had been dispatched to a pizza restaurant at the corner of Main Street and Euclid Avenue for reports of a woman with a knife.
A female suspect had allegedly cut someone on a Winnipeg Transit bus, and was now barricaded inside the restaurant.
The IIU report said officers tried to disarm the woman in several different ways, including using pepper spray and a Taser. The suspect did not comply, prompting police to use a "less lethal" shotgun, which shoots small bean bags instead of shells.
The woman was shot twice with the bean bag shotgun - first in the arm, and then in the leg. The IIU said she suffered bruising and lacerations as a result, triggering the investigation.
"The less lethal shotgun is a firearm for purposes under the Police Services Act (PSA). Any injury resulting from its use would constitute a serious injury pursuant to IIU regulation 99/2015," said the news release.
IIU investigators spoke with witnesses and reviewed all records of the incident. The woman chose not to participate in the investigation.
The final report found that the use of force in this situation was justified.
"The actions of the WPS officers … represents a textbook example in dealing with an armed individual and negating the risks posed without causing significant physical harm," said the report.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.