Winnipeg police members who responded to St. Malo as part of a homicide investigation in 2015 were “careful and appropriate in the circumstances”, according to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU).
The provincial police watchdog released its report into the incident Friday.
The report reveals officers responded to St. Malo on November 2, 2015 during the homicide investigation of 49-year-old Camille Runke three days earlier. Investigations revealed Kevin Runke, 44, as a suspect in the case.
The IIU investigation states officers saw a vehicle registered to the suspect drive past them. Police followed the vehicle with lights and sirens on. The report said the vehicle continued at a normal speed for approximately five kilometres before veering off the road, through a ditch, a barbed wire fence, and through a field before coming to a stop in a wooded area.
The officers on scene waited for back up before approaching the vehicle. They found Runke with a sawed off 12-guage shotgun between his legs and a serious injury to his head.
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The IIU report shows no officers had any verbal or physical contact with Runke, and no police firearms were discharged.