New Manitoba investigative unit busy since it formed, director says
CBC News | Posted: November 24, 2015 11:30 AM | Last Updated: November 24, 2015
Independent Investigations Unit has been involved in 18 police investigations since June
The Independent Investigations Unit of Manitoba (IIU) has only been up and running for five months, but it's been busy.
The unit investigates all serious cases involving on and off-duty police in the province.
Zane Tessler, the executive director of the IIU, said he expected the unit would have a steady workload, but not as steady as it's been since June.
"No, I have to admit that we have been fairly busy, busier than I had anticipated for the first few months at least," said Tessler. "But … we've been able to handle the matters."
To date, they've been involved in 18 investigations, eight of which involved a fatality.
"There is no doubt we are busy," Tessler said.
Fatal Portage crash
The latest case involving the IIU happened on Monday morning.
Investigators were called after a police chase ended in a fatal crash on Portage Avenue.
The Winnipeg Police Service said the driver, a 27-year-old woman, had been involved in a commercial robbery on Dale Boulevard in the Charleswood neighbourhood. A chase then ensued that led police downtown.
The woman's vehicle hit a series of objects on the street and sidewalk before crashing and coming to a stop outside the University of Winnipeg's Buhler Centre at Portage and Good Street. She was taken to hospital in critical condition, where she later died.
A 30-year-old man, who police said was a passenger in the vehicle, ran from the scene but was found and arrested. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police-involved shootings
The unit was also called to investigate a deadly police shooting in Thompson last weekend.
Police pulled over a car after it was spotted driving erratically on Saturday morning. An officer got out of the police cruiser and approached the vehicle. That's when the driver accelerated and struck the officer, RCMP said.
The officer then opened fire. The male driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The police gunfire also injured a female passenger, the IIU said. She was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
In another case in October, a man was shot to death by police after leading dozens of cruisers on a chase.
It ended in a field at Kapyong Barracks, the former military base on Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue.
Tessler said that if the IIU ever gets bogged down with too many investigations, it will reach out to independent investigative units in other provinces for help.