A suspect involved in a wild McDermot Avenue incident on Tuesday night was apparently ‘too large’ to be affected by a taser, police said.
Around 9:45 p.m., officers were talking to a woman and her three young kids in response to reported domestic incident.
While they were talking, police said, a man forced the back door open, hitting one of the officers before fleeing.
The woman put her children into her car, but the suspect began banging on the car’s windows, shattering them. An attempt to get the man under control with a taser failed, and the woman ran back inside and tried to barricade the door.
The suspect forced his way in, locked himself inside, and started a fire that spread to a suite on the second floor.
Three adults and a child were trapped in the upstairs suite, police said, and had to jump from the second storey to safety. They were treated for smoke inhalation in hospital.
With the help of the tactical team and a K-9 unit, police were able to safely remove the man from the home.
“It’s crazy, but it’s not that unusual for our officers,” said Winnipeg police Const. Rob Carver.
“It’s no longer crazy for our front-line officers … crazy has almost become the new norm.”
The 26-year-old – who police aren’t naming because it was a domestic incident – has been detained and is facing four counts of arson with disregard for human life, three counts of breaking and entering to commit assault, and two counts of mischief under $5,000.
He has also been charged with mischief over $5,000, resisting a peace officer, assaulting a peace officer, and arson causing damage to property.