Police shoot, kill 27-year-old man after attack inside Charleswood home

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This article was published 10/03/2020 (2041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 27-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday morning by a Winnipeg police officer responding to reports the man had been using a weapon with a blade to assault other residents of his Charleswood home.

It is the first incident in 2020 involving an officer firing a weapon, police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said.

A resident and a neighbour called police just before 5 a.m., Carver said, adding five general-patrol units were dispatched to the Kowalsky Crescent home.

The call was coded as “family trouble,” although Carver wouldn’t elaborate on the relationship between the three residents.

The other residents were taken to hospital, one in unstable condition, the other stable. The man who was shot died after being taken to Health Sciences Centre.

Though details were still being sorted out, it’s believed the shooting took place outside the home, Carver said. He didn’t say how many shots the officer fired.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has confirmed it is now investigating the shooting and the events leading up to it. Because the case is now before the IIU, police couldn’t share much more information, Carver said.

“We’re going to try and give the public as much information as we can, up right until the point where deadly force was used,” he said.

In a release, the IIU said it was notified of the shooting by police shortly after it occurred and only one officer was involved with discharging a weapon after dealing with a person outside the home.

“Since this matter involves a fatality, a request for the appointment of a civilian monitor will be made to the Manitoba Police Commission,” the IIU release stated.

The IIU is mandated to carry out investigations into every serious incident involving Manitoba police officers.

Once investigations — which draw on eyewitness accounts, forensic reconstruction, officer accounts and a review of available surveillance footage, among other evidence — are complete, the IIU civilian director publishes a report determining if an officer has committed an offence.

If the determination is yes, the civilian director may lay charges against the subject officer or refer the matter for a Crown opinion as to whether the officer should be charged. Investigations often take several months to complete.

As far as police are concerned, the incident is being treated as a homicide, meaning the officers’ weapons, uniforms and equipment are all seized as evidence, Carver said.

The officer who shot the man “won’t be back at work for a little bit” while the post-incident process is carried out, he said, adding the time off is not disciplinary.

It wouldn’t be uncommon for five general-patrol units to respond to a reported assault situation, Carver said.

“We try to bring as many members as we can because lots of officers make for, typically, a safer, less-volatile situation. Obviously, in this case, it has resulted in a death,” he said.

You bring the tools and the tactics that you have at your disposal. We can never be sure how it’s going to unfold, and unfortunately, this is a tragedy for everyone involved, including our officers.”

The IIU has requested anyone with video footage or information that might help investigators determine what happened to call 1-844-667-6060.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca