Manitoba’s police watchdog did not authorize charges against the Winnipeg police officers who handcuffed an unconscious suspect believed to be overdosing and who later died.
Placing the man in handcuffs was an appropriate action that allowed the officers to administer naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug, according to the final report from the head of the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) of Manitoba.
“The civilian director declined to designate a subject officer,” said the report, which was authored by IIU civilian director, Bruce M. Sychuk, meaning a specific officer who could not be identified as being responsible for any alleged misconduct.
The five officers who responded to the call were deemed witnesses, along with nine civilians who were at the scene or provided medical care. The IIU also viewed a video that was captured inside a home during the incident, it said
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Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) officers received a call about a reported break-and-enter at a home in the 100 block of Burrin Avenue, on the morning of Apr. 1. Both people inside the home identified the man as the suspect to police, the report said.
A woman who was inside the home told the watchdog that the man entered uninvited through the home’s back door. In response, the other occupant put him in a bear hug, grabbed a knife and called the police, according to the IIU’s recounting of her story.
During that time, the witness reported that the suspect was “talking gibberish and speaking to dogs and people who were not there. She also noted that (he) was foaming at the mouth area and his eyes were completely dilated,” the report said.
Both of the witnesses who were inside the home attested that police did not apply force to the suspect.
“(One of the witnesses) confirmed that (the suspect) was breathing after he was handcuffed, although his lips were blue,” according to the report.
People who provided medical care to him confirmed to the IIU that no obvious injuries or trauma were sustained, it added.
The man was rushed to St. Boniface Hospital, where he died. A toxicology report shared in the IIU’s document said that he tested positive for drugs, including cocaine and a benzodiazepine derivative known as nordiazepam.
His autopsy found his cause of death to be acute cocaine toxicity.
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