Police watchdog investigates after man's rib broken during arrest by Winnipegosis RCMP

Manitoba's police watchdog is investigating after a 38-year-old man suffered a broken rib when he was shot with a less-lethal projectile by a Winnipegosis RCMP officer on Monday. 

Around 10:45 on Monday, RCMP officials received a call from emergency services to help with a male patient who had assaulted a paramedic with a pair of shears while he was being transported from Minegoziibe Anishinabe (formerly Pine Creek First Nation) to a hospital in Dauphin, according to a Tuesday RCMP release.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe is located near Camperville, about 420 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. The community is about 120 kilometres north of Dauphin. 

Police met paramedics on Highway 20, north of Winnipegosis, where the man was in the back of the ambulance, still holding the shears, the release said. Police said the man did not drop the weapon after repeated demands. 

Police used a conducted energy weapon after the man "aggressively approached the officer" with the shears, according to police. He then started walking north on Highway 20 and traffic began to stop. 

Police said the man got into a stopped vehicle after a female passenger got out. The man assaulted the male driver while a child sat in the back seat, police allege. 

The driver and passenger restrained the man in the car, where police were able to confiscate the shears, according to the release. Police said the man then got out of the vehicle and "aggressively approached" the officer. 

During this time, another officer arrived to assist and two "use-of force-encounters" occurred, according to a Wednesday release from the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which probes all serious incidents involving police officers in the province. 

According to police, a less-lethal 40-millimetre sponge-tipped plastic projectile was used, followed by a conducted energy weapon. 

The IIU said the projectile hit the man on the left side of his abdomen and ribs. After a struggle with police, he was arrested and taken to a hospital in Dauphin, where health-care workers found the man's rib was broken, the watchdog said. 

The IIU said the man was treated for his injuries and released into police custody. 

The police watchdog is asking anyone with information or video footage of the incident to contact investigators at 1-844-667-6060. 

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