IIU investigating after man’s arrest by Winnipeg police

The province’s police oversight agency is looking into the arrest of a man whose ribs were found to be broken after he was taken into custody by Winnipeg police officers.

The Independent Investigation Unit says it was notified by the Winnipeg Police Service of the incident, which occurred on Aug. 18 last year, on Wednesday.

The IIU said a man was driving north on Route 90 when he was rear-ended by another driver, who got out and identified himself as an off-duty officer. The off-duty officer spoke with a witness, then approached the man who was rear-ended and told him he was going to arrest him for impaired driving.

The off-duty officer “physically detained” the driver until on-duty officers arrived, who arrested him and transported him to the west district police station. He was released on an appearance notice.

The next day, the driver went for medical treatment and doctors discovered he had a fractured rib. It’s unclear whether his ribs were broken in the collision or during his arrest.

The man reported the incident to the Law Enforcement Review Agency early last month, who looked at medical reports and notified the Winnipeg police on March 31, who in turn reported it to the IIU.

The IIU asks anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have video footage of it to call investigators at 1-844-667-6060.