IIU clears officers during incident at CFS office – Winnipeg Free Press

A provincial police watchdog says officers tried to shoot a man with a pencil to his neck at the Office of Children and Family Services in January.

The incident took place at 222 Provencher Boulevard. In the early hours of January 3, police released some details about the incident the following day, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smith held a press conference to defend his officers' handling of mental health calls.

Police were alerted by CFS officers when a 30-year-old man with mental health problems tried to drag his 30-year-old female partner outside.

According to the IIU report released Wednesday, police told the guard that the man's partner wanted to drive him home and the woman asked CFS staff to take him to the shelter. The man grabbed a pencil from the front desk, held it to his neck and threatened to stab himself when heavily armed WPS Tactical Support Team officers arrived.

Police told IIU the officer fired two rounds with a rubber-tipped foam to subdue the man. The rounds hit the man in the left leg, but there was no immediate effect. Another member of the tactical team fired a Taser at the man, but the probes did not connect to his body, WPS told IIU.

“The man fell to the ground, grabbed the object that turned out to be a marker and tried to stab himself with it,” the police said.

“The male then appeared to be having a seizure or may have tried to harm himself,” the IIU police report said.