The Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) has determined no charges will be laid against a police officer who shot and killed an armed suspect last September.
Police were responding to a 911 call from a home in the Maples when the shooting took place. The woman said her son, who was high on meth and was armed with knives, had assaulted his brother.
READ MORE: Officer in hospital, 33-year-old man dead after Winnipeg confrontation
In a release issued Monday, the IIU investigation stated “when officers attended, they could hear male and female screaming from inside the residence; they knew the male suspect was likely high on drugs and may have stabbed another person; the man lunged at and stabbed one officer; and it was reasonable to believe the man had the means and intent to injure others.
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The IIU found that, in those circumstances, lethal force was justified”.
Following the incident, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth suggested rising drug use in the city was contributing to increased confrontations with police.
READ MORE: Winnipeg police chief says drug use contributing to rise in violence
In his report, IIU civilian director Zane Tessler commented about drug abuse and treatment issues and their effect on police-involved incidents.
“While not necessarily relevant to the resolution of the present investigation, this issue does raise concerns respecting the identification and treatment of drug abuse and mental health problems,” Tessler wrote.
The report stated police had been called to the same residence just two weeks prior, at which time the same suspect was high on meth and armed with knives. On that occasion, he was transported to hospital without incident.
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