News briefs for Tuesday, March 17, 2026

IIU to probe alleged assault by officer

4:32 PM

Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating a complaint that an officer assaulted a man in custody at Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

A man said he was assaulted by an officer while being arrested Jan. 1 at 3 a.m. for a court order violation.

The man reported the incident to the WPS professional standards unit on Jan. 28. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba was alerted of the incident on March 11.

Its civilian director determined it is in the public interest for the IIU to investigate.

Sex offender to live in Winnipeg

2:13 PM

Police are warning the public about the release of a convicted sex offender who is considered a high risk to reoffend.

Burton Randy Thomas was released from Stony Mountain Institution Tuesday after breaching conditions of his long-term supervision order for the third time.

Thomas also breached conditions in 2019 and 2023, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a Tuesday news release.

The 52 year old, who police say is also known as Thomas Randy Burton, Randy Burt Thomas, Burton Ron Thomas and Jake Blake Wasaho, is expected to live in Winnipeg.

He was convicted of the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in 2010.

Although he participated in some treatment, he remains a high risk to reoffend and females are at risk of sexual violence, police said.

Any vigilante action from the public against Thomas will not be tolerated, police said.

Teen victim identified in double homicide

10:21 AM

The second victim of a double slaying in Winnipeg’s North End has been identified as a 16-year-old boy from Sagkeeng First Nation.

Police announced the age but not the name of the teenager in an updated news release on Tuesday. He was shot dead alongside 32-year-old Jason Robert Baker at a home on the 300 block of Boyd Avenue on March 12.

Officers were called to the home — identified by neighbours as 340 Boyd Ave. — around 5:30 p.m.; both victims had serious injuries. They were taken to hospital in critical condition but later died.

Police said Baker was a member of Hollow Water First Nation.

His relatives told the Free Press he was a father of six kids, and had been at the home to pick up his niece.

At the time of the shooting, Baker was wanted on an arrest warrant by police in Regina, where he was required to live as part of release conditions tied to a conviction. He also had a history with Winnipeg police, which included charges of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, fleeing police, kidnapping and aggravated assault.