The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) will not be laying any charges against two Winnipeg Police Service officers in connection to a December 2017 arrest.
On the day in question, police responded to a call about a break-in at a warehouse on Arthur Street.
Two officers found the suspect armed with a two-by-four piece of lumber in a stairwell.
As the suspect came towards the officers they deployed their tasers but they had no effect. The man continued to charge the officers at which point the officers defended themselves and punched the suspect in the face and upper body.
Police say the man then tried to push the officers down the stairs, reach for their tasers. One of the officers was injured after the suspect bit their calf.
The suspect suffered a broken jaw, broken nose and bleeding between the brain and surrounding membranes.
Due to these being serious injuries, the IIU was mandated to investigate.
As part of the investigation, the IIU asked a use of force expert with the RCMP in the Vancouver Island District to review the file. The expert concluded the officers’ actions were required to bring a violent person into custody. The expert said that similarly trained officers in identical circumstances would use equivalent levels of force.
© News4.ca 2020
