Man shot, killed after stabbing officer in throat: police

The video posted Sunday doesn’t show an officer being stabbed, and Winnipeg Police Service officials say it doesn’t reflect the entire incident.

The injured officer, a senior member of the police force, was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. The male who was shot was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

Police held a rare weekend news conference on the incident late Sunday night. Acting Chief Art Stannard called it “a very tragic incident.”

He said the officer was stabbed in the throat with “an edged weapon” while interacting with the male near the bus shelter.

He said the injured officer is “doing well,” and despite his injuries, still helped perform CPR on the now-deceased man.

The WPS said the officers involved were in the area as part of the retail theft initiative.

The WPS received an emergency radio transmission from plainclothes retail theft officers after the violence unfolded at about 5:09 p.m. stating an officer had been stabbed and the suspect was down.

“This transmission is one we never, ever want to receive,” Stannard said.

The acting police chief said because the incident is now being investigated by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, he couldn’t share many details about what led to the violence or how officers working on shoplifting cases became involved with the now-deceased man. He said his message to the public was not to make judgments without having all the facts.

Asked if he’s concerned the videos of the shooting posted on social media will prompt negative judgments against police, Stannard said: “I’m concerned that it only shows part of the incident.”

The province announced on Nov. 14 that the anti-crime initiative is being made permanent. The program has earned the support of business owners who have been dealing with rising shoplifting and threats of violence.

The video shows police officers with their guns drawn. They yelled at the male to drop “the axe or the knife.” When the male took a step toward the officers, they immediately fired multiple shots, the video shows.

The shooting happened at Unicity, a commercial area made up of separate buildings, on west Portage Avenue, at 5:09 p.m.

A shopper told the Free Press she heard what she originally thought were firecrackers while heading to her vehicle in the Walmart parking lot, which is part of the shopping area.

The Westwood resident — who asked to be identified by her first name, Jennifer — said she then saw two officers with guns drawn while a male was on the ground. She described the incident as shocking, saying incidents such as this are unusual in her neighbourhood.

“Unfortunately, our city’s crime level is skyrocketing, and police have to take measures, so I support the police. There’s a lot of crime in this city, and I think they’re doing as best they can,” she said.

Police vehicles and tape remained at the scene Monday morning.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Katie May
Multimedia producer

Katie May is a multimedia producer for the Free Press.

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