Naked man dies after jolt from police Taser

A Transcona man says he was lucky to be awake early Sunday when, shortly after 4 a.m., a stranger smashed through his screen door and kicked in the front door of his home.

“It’s all I can think about, like what if I was sleeping?” said the man, whom the Free Press is not naming to protect his identity. “Being awake gave me just a couple of extra seconds to deal with him before he got his whole body in.”

He was sitting on his couch when he heard the glass shatter and saw someone trying to force his way inside.

“Glass flew in and this guy — he was a big guy — tried to climb through the screen door,” the man said. “I hopped off the couch and just remember screaming for help. Well, of course it’s four in the morning, so nobody’s going to help, right? I wasn’t thinking straight.”

He yelled at the stranger to get out as the man continued trying to crawl through the small opening in the damaged screen door.

“I grabbed a flashlight and I hit him across the top of his head, and he just kept coming, so I hit him again,” the man said. “On the second hit, he screamed. And then he ran away.”

Officers arrived soon afterward and, after searching the neighbourhood, found a naked man who, police said, refused their commands and ran away.

Officers deployed a Taser and took the man into custody.

An ambulance was called after the man began showing signs of what police described as an “agitated, chaotic event.”

“Being awake gave me just a couple of extra seconds to deal with him before he got his whole body in.”

He later became unresponsive, prompting officers to begin CPR until emergency personnel arrived. The 42-year-old was rushed to hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead.

The homeowner, who had cuts on his feet, legs and forearms and was bleeding, didn’t see what happened after the man ran out of his house due to the sudden influx of officers and emergency vehicles.

The last thing he remembered was the man kneeling on the boulevard in front of his house and screaming.

The Winnipeg Police Service said Monday that because of the use-of-force event, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has taken over the investigation. The police watchdog investigates serious incidents involving police officers, including those resulting in death or serious injury.

Officers were called to the 600 block of McMeans Avenue East at 4:23 a.m. after several 911 calls about a man behaving erratically and removing his clothing, police said in a news release Monday.

One of the 911 calls came from the man himself and a woman, who told dispatchers they were experiencing adverse effects after consuming drugs, police said.

The homeowner also called 911 after the attempted break-in.

“The weirdest part of the whole thing was that (the stranger) didn’t use any words the whole time — all he did was bark and growl at me,” said the man, who has lived in his home for 30 years. “But I’m not going to apologize for hitting him with the flashlight. It was an unfair fight and I fought unfairly.”

By daylight, the normally quiet stretch of Transcona had become the focus of a major police investigation.

Officers remained in the neighbourhood, dominated by side-by-side homes, for much of Sunday. One resident said police were still there by 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.

The homeowner’s damaged entrance was boarded up Monday, a visible reminder of what had unfolded.

“It’s usually pretty quiet around here,” said one neighbour, who lives across the street from where she saw police investigating Sunday. “I’ve lived here for 40 years now. This was unusual.”

“It’s usually pretty quiet around here. I’ve lived here for 40 years now. This was unusual.”

Another neighbour said area residents, many of whom are older, were shaken by what unfolded.

The woman said police were “absolutely amazing” with her daughter, who was frightened by the commotion.

“They brought her stickers and took her to see the cop car,” the neighbour said. “They were fantastic with everybody in the area, going out of their way to assure people. Nothing like this happens around here.”

Meanwhile, the man who had his home broken into said he’s struggling to sleep after the ordeal.

Police said one officer suffered a minor leg injury during the incident.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates serious incidents involving police officers, including those resulting in death or serious injury, has taken over the investigation.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca