The actions of Winnipeg police are being investigated by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) after a man was shot by officers during an altercation Tuesday evening.
According to police, officers were called to a scene near Arlington Street and Notre Dame Avenue, where a man was allegedly trying to set fire to the fuel tank of a vehicle.
Police said the man was armed with a knife and a rock and started running into traffic confronting people after he was unsuccessful in lighting a fire.
The man was allegedly still armed in the street when police arrived, and they attempted to deploy a taser, which was unsuccessful, before firing on him.
Officers gave the man emergency medical care, and when an ambulance arrived, he was taken to hospital in unstable condition, with his condition later being upgraded to stable.
In an unrelated incident, an off-duty officer was robbed and assaulted, police said, Tuesday afternoon on Smith Street.
Police said the officer was driving when he was flagged down by a man who said he was in distress.
Then man then allegedly opened the driver’s door and started attacking the officer and tried to pull him out of the vehicle while threatening to kill him.
When the officer got out of the vehicle, police said, the suspect tried to steal the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. He attempted to run off, but was arrested by three other off-duty officers at the scene.
The man, 27, had been released from police custody for another, unrelated, incident 20 minutes before the attack.
He has been charged with robbery, assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and failing to comply with probation.
He was taken into custody and the officer was treated for upper-body injuries.
Police also investigated a homicide in downtown Winnipeg Tuesday night.
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