Sister of man allegedly shot by police in Salmon Arm says he's not a violent person
'He’s not one to carry weapons. He’s just not a dangerous kid,' Tassie Winter says of brother
The sister of a 22-year-old man in a Kamloops hospital with a gunshot wound to his head says her brother is not a violent person.
Tassie Winter says it was her brother, Kaymen Winter, who was shot by police in a Salmon Arm car wash around midnight on Monday.
"He just got off sedation yesterday," Tassie Winter told Radio West host Audrey McKinnon. "He does remember what happened. He's unaware of why he was dealt with the way he was."
"My Mum's been talking with him and supporting him and trying to make him understand what happened. He's a little confused as to what's going on."
Police say they were responding to a call of a theft in progress at the Xcalibur Car Wash on 10th Avenue when a man in one of the wash bays tried to escape in a vehicle.
The province's police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has confirmed it is investigating the incident.
It says it cannot confirm Winter's brother was the man who was shot because it cannot release the identity of affected persons in an ongoing investigation.
Winter admits her brother has a criminal past but says he is not violent and wouldn't have been armed.
She says her brother told her on Sunday he was driving from Alberta to Nanaimo to deal with an outstanding warrant.
"He's really a good kid. I know he has a criminal past," she said. "He's not one to carry weapons. He's just not a dangerous kid. He has no assault charges or anything like that."
Winter says her family is now focused on supporting Kaymen during his recovery.
With files from CBC Radio One's Radio West
