Winnipeg police officer justified in Gertrude Avenue shooting: watchdog

What appears to be a rifle is visible on the front steps of an apartment building on Gertrude Avenue in Winnipeg on the evening of July 13, 2022. (Source: Glenn Pismenny/ CTV News Winnipeg)

Manitoba's police watchdog says a Winnipeg police officer was justified in shooting a man who was brandishing a rifle outside an Osborne Village apartment building last year.

The incident happened July 13, 2022, in front of a building in the 300 block of Gertrude Avenue. Police responded to a 911 call reporting a man sitting on the front steps armed with a rifle.

The man told police he was suicidal and asked them to shoot him. Officers surrounded the man and tried to disarm him using a Taser, which proved ineffective.

Police said the man pointed the gun at them, at which point he was shot in the abdomen near his left hip. The man subsequently dropped his weapon and was rushed to hospital in unstable condition. He was later upgraded to stable condition.

As with all police-involved shootings, the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) of Manitoba opened an investigation into the incident. The agency interviewed multiple officers and witnesses at the scene, listened to recordings of the 911 call, and reviewed citizen-submitted video recordings that captured the shooting from different perspectives.

The IIU investigation revealed that the man called 911 on himself to bring police to the building in an attempt to end his life. He had a semi-automatic .22 calibre long rifle with nine live rounds in the magazine, but no round in the chamber.

Investigators said the man refused to drop his weapon, despite repeated demands from police to do so. They tried using a conductive energy weapon twice, but that didn't disarm him. He was then shot once by police, which caused him to drop the gun.

The investigation concluded that because the gun was loaded and was pointed at police, the officer was justified in shooting the suspect to disarm him.

No reasonable grounds were found to support any charges against the officer in question. The IIU now considers the matter closed.

*Editor's note: A previous version of this article suggested charges had been laid against the subject officer. The article has since been updated with a correction.