Winnipeg police refer two incidents to Independent Investigation Unit

Winnipeg police say they have referred two incidents to the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) including a robbery at a shopping centre and a domestic incident.

Chief Danny Smyth said on Friday just after midnight a woman called the police for help regarding her boyfriend who she said was intoxicated.

Smyth said the woman was concerned about her children who were in the suite at the time.

“There was a lot of yelling and commotion in the background and reports of windows being smashed,” he said.

Officers went to an apartment building in the 200 block of Fairlane Avenue, Smyth said in the interim the woman had fled the suite to the safety of another suite. After midnight, Smyth said the woman called back and said her boyfriend had fallen down the stairs from their second-floor suite and was lying in the snow at the bottom of the stairs.

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Another caller said the man had wandered into the parking lot but had fallen.

Officers arrived on the scene and saw the man lying on the ground in the parking lot. They handcuffed the man and as they were walking him to their car he became unresponsive.

Police then called an ambulance and he was taken to the hospital after receiving first aid. Smyth said he was informed on Sunday morning that the man had died during the night.

“At this point, IIU has taken jurisdiction and they’ll attempt to determine what the cause of death was,” Smyth said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday and police have contacted the family.

The second incident happened on Friday evening just after 6 p.m. in the area of the Garden City Shopping Mall.

Smyth said a man was seen in the parking lot armed with an axe and had attacked a cab driver before stealing and driving off in the stolen cab.

Officers were able to track him down and take him into custody but once he was in custody he complained of an injury to his ankle. He was taken to hospital where it was confirmed he had a fracture.

“Because of the injury, the IIU was contacted and they’ll investigate the nature of the injury,” said Smyth.

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