Winnipeg officer shoots man dead after officer pinned by vehicle during traffic stop, police say

The sound of gunfire in the middle of the night rattled people in a Winnipeg neighbourhood Tuesday when a police officer fatally shot a man while an officer was pinned by a car after a traffic stop, police say.

The shooting happened shortly after 12:30 a.m. near Pembina Highway and Dalhousie Drive, the Winnipeg police and Manitoba's police watchdog both said.

Aanchal Jaiswal, who lives nearby, described hearing something banging into something else followed by two shots. Soon, more police and an ambulance arrived at the scene.

"It was [a] very loud voice, then suddenly everything got silent and again somebody was screaming,"  Jaiswal recalled. "I was so afraid. It was just next to my window, but I couldn't get up and see."

The Winnipeg Police Service says the shooting happened after an officer approached a car during the traffic stop in the area of Pembina and Dalhousie. The vehicle attempted to leave and pinned the officer, police said.

An officer fired, striking the man driving the vehicle, police said.

Additional officers arrived and provided emergency medical care to the fatally wounded man, who died in hospital.

The man was 39, said a news release from the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU). A female passenger remains in police custody.

Asif Iqpal, who lives in the area with roommates, said someone rang their doorbell multiple times and knocked repeatedly, but they didn't answer the door because they weren't expecting anyone.

"We were scared," Iqpal said. 

Iqpal then saw a police cruiser behind the house and an officer walking around the area around 2 a.m. 

An alley behind Dalhousie Drive, between Ulster Street and Lasita Road in the city's Fort Richmond area, was taped off and blocked by police cruisers throughout the morning.

The IIU, which investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, has assumed responsibility for the investigation. Because it involves a fatality, the IIU has asked the Manitoba Police Commission to appoint a civilian monitor, the police watchdog said in its news release.

Police are not releasing any additional information while the IIU investigates.