Officers did all they could during fatal standoff near Anola, police watchdog says
Man, 45, found dead in home following standoff with RCMP in January
Manitoba's police watchdog says there are no grounds for charges after investigating the death of a man following a standoff with RCMP east of Winnipeg in January.
Mounties received a report of a man with a firearm who had sent dozens of threatening text messages to his estranged wife on Jan. 6, Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) said in a release on Monday. The messages also threatened police.
- Police descend on Anola, Man. Friday after RCMP say armed man barricaded himself in home
- Police watchdog to investigate man's death in standoff east of Winnipeg
RCMP responded to the 45-year-old man's home near Anola and secured the area.
A crisis negotiator team also went to the house, IIU said, but they were unable to convince the man to surrender.
Around 8 a.m. on Jan. 7, officers went into the house and found the man in a bedroom closet, dead apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The IIU was notified by the RCMP because it investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, whether occurring on or off duty.
IIU went through officers' notes and reports, audio recordings and scene photographs. Investigators also received the man's computer, a long rifle, firearm analysis and the medical examiner's findings.
After going through all the information, civilian director of IIU Zane Tessler found that officers responded appropriately and did everything possible to de-escalate the situation and negotiate a peaceful surrender, IIU said in the news release.
Anola is about 40 kilometres east of Winnipeg.