No charges against police involved in arrest of injured man: independent investigators

Winnipeg police officers who used pepper spray and a Taser in the arrest of a man who was later found with internal injuries will not face charges, independent investigators reported Friday morning as they concluded their probe of the incident.

The man was injured during an altercation with police near Main Street at Higgins Avenue on the morning Aug. 8, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba concluded in its report.

The incident occurred while officers were responding to calls about a man causing a disturbance outside Siloam Mission, according to a release from IIU.

According to its report the man was "agitated, aggressive and refused to obey police commands."

Officers took the man to Health Sciences Centre where he was sedated to quell his continued perturbed state.

The man was found to be suffering from a collapsed lung and three fractured ribs, triggering the investigation into the officers' conduct.

An independent investigation is routinely conducted whenever serious incidents involving police occur.

Investigators interviewed a handful of Siloam Mission staff who witnessed the arrest. They also spoke with the injured man, but said in the report "he was unable to provide any details."

The doctor who attended to the man's injuries said it was possible he had sustained them prior to the encounter with police.

Zach Tessler, the IIU's civilian director, wrote that officers used force, but it was "necessary" and "not excessive."