No charges for Manitoba RCMP officers who Tasered man, stood on his chest after he resisted arrest: watchdog
Independent Investigation Unit states 'optics' of video of arrest could be concerning without proper context
Manitoba's police watchdog will not recommend prosecuting two Mounties — one of whom used a stun gun nine times and another who stood on a suspect's chest — for the actions they took to subdue a man who was resisting arrest in a northern community earlier this year.
One of the Mounties maintained the man could breathe, even though he yelled that he couldn't as he continued to struggle and resist the officers, according to a report released Tuesday by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba.
The incident leading to the arrest happened on Jan. 31 in Mosakahiken Cree Nation, about 475 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. A few days later, Moose Lake RCMP reported it to the IIU, which investigates all serious incidents involving police in the province.
RCMP responded to a disturbance call on Trader's Lake Road at about 4:30 a.m. that day and were told a man had assaulted a woman and wouldn't leave the residence.
The man barricaded himself inside and resisted arrest once Mounties arrived, RCMP said at the time, and they subsequently used a Taser on him.
The man was charged with four counts of assault causing bodily harm, assault while choking, probation violation, and two counts each of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
A video circulating on social media at the time appeared to show a Mountie standing on the chest of a man lying on the ground next to a truck. The RCMP later confirmed the video was taken during the arrest in question.
WATCH | Mountie stands on man during arrest (January 2025):
In its final report, the police watchdog agency described a portion of the video as showing two Mounties trying to gain control of the man using force.
The video shows one Mountie standing on the man's stomach and chest while his hands are cuffed behind his back.
The man told IIU investigators he did try to block the officers from entering before trying to slip out a window.
That's where Mounties "grabbed him, slammed him to the ground and started handcuffing him," according to the account the man gave to the investigators. He also told the unit he was Tasered twice inside by one Mountie and five times outside by another.
The man said he had consumed two dozen Twisted Tea alcoholic drinks that evening but "was not severely intoxicated."
A witness told the investigation unit they saw the man smoke an unknown substance before assaulting a woman.
The victim told investigators the man was drunk and high on cocaine before he attacked her.
'Exhausting fight'
The witness said she hit the man with a board in an attempt to stop the attack, and she and two others at the residence had to physically restrain the man before police arrived.
That same witness told investigators the man failed to comply and started fighting Mounties when they told him to get on the floor because he was under arrest.
The man got loose as he was being dragged out and proceeded to fight them again, according to the IIU.
One of the Mounties stood on top of the man for about 15 minutes while waiting for a third officer to arrive, the witness told investigators.
The victim estimated the scuffle with police took about 20 minutes before a third officer arrived.
That Mountie said by the time he arrived, his two peers appeared to be "exhausted" from trying to restrain the man, so he helped shackle the man's leg and load him into the cruiser.
The two Mounties involved in arresting, Tasering and standing on the man declined to be interviewed by the investigative unit, but they provided written information, including use of force reports, that mirror some elements of what witnesses told investigators.
One officer's report said the man would've probably gotten away were it not for the use of a stun gun, which allowed them to cuff the man.
Because both of them were exhausted, one Mountie reported the only way he could assist his peer was by standing on the man's chest.
Actions 'reasonable': IIU
That officer's report said that the man said he couldn't breathe, but the Mountie determined the man's "breathing was not affected as he was yelling extremely loud throughout," according to the IIU's report.
Hospital records show the man who was arrested had contusions to his face and injured his right eye, though no fractures appeared during an X-ray, the report states.
Data recovered from the stun gun of one officer indicated it was fired nine times, with eight connecting with the man.
Bruce M. Sychuk, the acting civilian director for the Independent Investigation Unit, decided against recommending charges against the two Mounties.
"The optics of an officer standing on an accused without the background evidence would be concerning on the face of it," Sychuk wrote in his report.
"However, with the evidence of an extended and exhausting fight between a resisting offender and the officers, the actions of the subject officers were reasonable in the circumstances."
The investigation is now closed.