Off-duty Winnipeg officers assaulted, sprayed with bear spray while attempting to stop theft

Off-duty Winnipeg police officers were assaulted and sprayed with bear spray while attempting to stop three men from stealing merchandise from a store at Unicity Shopping Centre Thursday. (CTV News Photo Ken Gabel)

Two off-duty police officers were assaulted and sprayed with bear spray while attempting to stop three men from stealing merchandise at Unicity Shopping Centre.

According to the Winnipeg Police Service, the incident began around noon on Thursday, when an off-duty officer was shopping at the mall and saw a store employee chasing after a man holding several pieces of merchandise.

Police said the officer then followed them outside where he saw three men carrying merchandise. He then identified himself as a police officer and told the suspects to go back to the store.

At this point, police allege that one suspect told another to “spray him,” and he pointed a can of bear spray at the officer.

As the three suspects left to go to a transit bus, a second man approached the officer, identified himself as a second off-duty officer and offered to help.

The suspects got on the bus, and the off-duty officers called for help from on-duty officers.

According to police, the off-duty officers then approached the bus and identified themselves.

Police allege the three suspects got off the bus and confronted the officers, with one charging at them and another spraying bear spray as they ran away.

The officers managed to grab one of the suspects, who was told he was under arrest. Police said this suspect then sprayed bear spray directly into the face of one of the off-duty officers, which temporarily blinded him. The two officers and the suspect then fell to the ground, as the suspect allegedly continued to resist arrest and spray bear spray.

Police said one of the suspects who had gotten away then ran back and began to assault the off-duty officers, throwing rocks at them.

On-duty officers got to the scene and arrested all three of the suspects. The off-duty officers were put through decontamination procedures, but were not hurt otherwise.

Police recovered the stolen merchandise and bear spray.

Rene Jordan Black, 23, Peter Edwin Morrison Black, 19, and Thomas Robert Stanley Kent, 24, were all charged with multiple offences, including two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of assaulting a peace officer, and robbery. None of the charges have been proven in court.

The three suspects remain in custody.