No charges for Winnipeg police officer who hit man with cruiser during chase: investigative unit

A Winnipeg police officer will not be charged after hitting a man with a police cruiser during a foot chase nearly 11 months ago, Manitoba's police watchdog says.

Zane Tessler, the civilian director of the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, said in a final investigation report released Thursday he was not satisfied there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer had exceeded justifiable force during the 2020 incident.

On the night of May 27, 2020, Winnipeg Police Service officers responded to a call about a man assaulting his girlfriend on Sargent Avenue, in the Daniel McIntyre area, the report says. A civilian made the call after seeing the man grab what appeared to be a can of bear mace from the woman, according to the report.

When police arrived, an officer got out of the cruiser and told the man he was under arrest. When the man fled, the officer began chasing him on foot, while the officer still in the police cruiser drove ahead to try cutting the suspect off.

During the chase, the man sprayed mace toward the officer on foot several times and then changed direction, the report says. The officer in the cruiser once again tried cutting the man off, the report says, but in the process the cruiser hit the man, knocking him to the ground.

The man continued using pepper spray on the officers as they approached, the report says.

The two officers saw him try to get up and used stun guns on the man. The officer driving the police cruiser got out to handcuff him, according to the report.

The man who was hit told IIU investigators that he noticed his arm was hurting as he was being handcuffed. He believed the injury happened after he was hit by the police cruiser, the report says.

Police brought the man to the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, where a doctor determined the man had suffered a fractured elbow.

The Independent Investigation Unit, which is mandated to investigate all serious incidents involving police officers, opened an investigation.

Investigators interviewed the police officers involved, the man who was hit by the cruiser and four civilians who witnessed at least some of the incident.

Investigators also reviewed various other sources, including officers' notes and video from the police helicopter, which was flying overhead during the incident.

A forensic doctor who was interviewed told investigators the man's injury was far more likely to have been caused by his fall to the ground than the impact with the vehicle itself.

Investigators also found there is no specific training nor policy on pursuing someone on foot with a police cruiser, but the strategy is commonly used to prevent an individual from getting away, the report says.

It also notes that the collision happened in large part because parked cars obstructed the view of the officer in the car, who did not have time to react.

Experts interviewed by the investigation unit deemed the collision unavoidable, given the speed of the police cruiser and the reaction time needed to avoid the man, the report says.

Tessler's report says the force used was determined to be necessary, reasonable and in compliance with the Criminal Code, and so no charges will be laid against the officer driving the car.