Manitoba’s police watchdog will not recommend charges against Winnipeg police officers in connection with the death of a 34-year-old man who broke into a home this spring. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) released its report Thursday into the death, which occurred at a home in the 100 block of Burrin Avenue on April 1. According to the report, police received a 911 call from a woman about a break-in and said the suspect refused to leave the home. Another man inside the home placed the suspect in a bearhug on the ground until police arrived. According to the report, a witness inside the home said the suspect was “talking gibberish and speaking to dogs and people who were not there,” was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were completely dilated. When police arrived, the suspect was handcuffed for safety reasons, but was not moving and unresponsive. First aid was performed and Narcan was administered until paramedics arrived, according to the report, as there was concern the suspect was suffering from a drug overdose. The suspect was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead. According to the report, preliminary results of the man’s autopsy state the cause of his death was acute cocaine toxicity, with a contributing factor of physiologic stress of physical struggle and restraint. “Police involvement had nothing to do with the cause of death,” the report reads. The report adds video of the scene from a main floor camera determined the man applying the bearhug only used enough force to detain the suspect until police arrived, and that officers only used enough force to apply handcuffs. The IIU has closed the investigation.
