59-year-old man fatally shot by Winnipeg police in North End

Winnipeg police say officers fatally shot a 59-year-old man wielding a “large, edged weapon” at his North End home Tuesday morning.

The Winnipeg Police Service says officers were at the home on Magnus Avenue near Main Street to transport the man to hospital for a non-voluntary physician examination.

Officers arrived shortly before 7:30 a.m. and were met at the door by the man holding a crowbar, according to police. They allege he was agitated and used a fire extinguisher towards officers before locking himself in the home.

Police say members from the WPS tactical support team (TST) were called, and they eventually breached the home.

“(Officers) continued their attempts to communicate with the male, who had now barricaded himself in a second-story bedroom,” WPS Cst. Claude Chancy said at a press conference Wednesday. “The male again discharged a fire extinguisher at TST members.”

That’s when the man walked out of the bedroom with the edged weapon, according to police, and officers shot him. He was taken to Heath Sciences Centre in critical condition, where he died of his injuries.

Manitoba’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU), has been notified and is investigating. Witnesses or anyone with information are asked to come forward.

Sarah Cotes, who lives on Magnus Avenue, was aware of the police interaction with the man as it was ongoing.

“I remember them telling him that, ‘all we want to do is talk to you, we just need to talk to you and then we’ll go,'” Cotes recounted. “He refused, kept refusing and wouldn’t let them in. And then 20 minutes later the SWAT vehicle came with the battering ram and they went in. And I didn’t hear anything after that, and I thought they took him away and it’s all done. But now again clearly there’s more to it than just that.”

Manitoba Mental Health Act

Winnipeg police say they first received the order under the Manitoba Mental Health Act (MHA) to take the man to hospital on Feb. 8, but attempts to apprehend him during the following days were not successful.

Bonnie Emerson, superintendent of community engagement with Winnipeg police, says the order fell under Form 2 of the MHA.

“(It’s) an order authorized by a Justice to take a person into custody,” she said. “It’s usually obtained by a family member or a person who is concerned about the person’s mental wellbeing. It can be obtained by any person, including a community worker.”

WPS acting Chief Art Stannard says the WPS had a history with the man for mental-health issues.

He adds the situation did not call for Alternative Response to Citizens in Crisis (ARCC), the response team made up of an officer and clinician used in certain instances involving a mental-health crisis.

“Based on the information we had, it was not a response for AARC at all,” he said. “Absolutely not. The safety conditions and the information we had, it was definitely a police response.”

The civilian-police partnership is “not appropriate for high risk or potential violence situations,” he added.

Cotes says the incident has left her neighbourhood in shock, adding her street has always felt safe and quiet.

“I thought he was just a regular person and you don’t know what goes on in there, what happened or why, but now you just kind of, you worry,” she said.

–With files from Mitchell Ringos, CityNews