‘Irrational’ man wouldn’t drop weapon: optometrist describes police shooting in his office

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (3094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four people were inside a downtown optometrist’s office Monday afternoon when a man waving a weapon at Winnipeg police was shot there.

Dr. Robert Lecker said he was examining a patient in a room at the back of his office, a patient was in another examination room and his receptionist was at her desk when all of a sudden he heard “a loud commotion and a lot of swearing.”

Lecker said he saw a man in the office waving a long pole with a large pair of scissors taped to it at the end, while about three metres away, a Winnipeg police officer with his sidearm drawn and two police trainees demanded he drop the weapon.

“The guy was undone and completely irrational,” Lecker said Tuesday.

“He was waving the weapon around. They said, ‘Drop the knife.’ I told my two patients to stay where they (were) and I went back into my office. I thought this was the safest place to be.

“The situation was somewhat chaotic.”

Lecker said he heard police again tell the man to drop the weapon and then, “It was ‘boom, boom.’

“You knew exactly it was a gunshot. It was two of them. One hit him.”

A single bullet hole could be seen at the back of the office.

Lecker said he first looked out a window of the examining room to make sure it was safe before he emerged.

“He was lying on the floor. They (police) had no choice. It was all professional,” he said. “There was no shootout in the walkway. We don’t want to jump the public up. It was in my office. “This wasn’t a shootout.”

The man was rushed to hospital in critical condition. Police issued a statement Tuesday saying he’d been upgraded to stable.

Members of the Independent Investigative Unit of Manitoba are investigating.

The IIU said on Tuesday that a 25-year-old man was shot by an on-duty Winnipeg police officer on Monday during the noon hour.

The IIU is asking anyone with information — including video footage — of the incident to call them toll free at 1-844-667-6060.

Nicelyn Romero, Lecker’s receptionist, said she saw the incident begin in the skywalk just outside the office.

Romero said the officer and two trainees were trying to get the man to drop the weapon when suddenly he backed through the door and into the main office area in front of her.

“He was cornered,” she said. “He was asked to drop his weapon, but he didn’t listen to the police. He stared at me. He was waving the weapon, but not at me.

“Police again said, ‘Drop your weapon or I’m going to shoot you.’ I was sitting but I just backed up against the cupboards.”

Romero said she wasn’t scared.

“I felt safe because the police were beside me at my side. I just thought what I’d do if he came near me.”

Lecker said he had never seen the man before. He described him as about five-foot-eight with an average build.

Meanwhile, Shawn Matthews, director of safety and outreach with the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, said the number of Downtown Watch patrols will be increased as a result of the shooting.

“During the day and evening, expect to see more patrols in and around the scene,” Matthews said.

“For the time being I’ve directed our patrols to be in and around the area to have that extra visual presence. We’ll do that as a measure now until we see how quickly things go back to normal. And we will continue to speak with police.”

But Matthews was quick to add that it’s impossible to predict and prevent such situations.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca