Police exempt from use of force after officers crash – Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba's Independent Investigations Unit says police used reasonable force when apprehending a suspect after a stolen truck collided with a police cruiser, seriously injuring two officers.

Officers spotted a Lincoln Mark LT near Inkster Boulevard and St. Cross Street shortly before the crash at 4 a.m. on June 7, 2023, at Main Street and Belmont Avenue.

The IIU said in a press release Thursday that the truck driver attempted to flee after the collision and that police used a Taser on the man during a “brief use of force.” After taking him to the police station, officers noticed he had “visible injuries” and an ambulance took him to the Health Sciences Centre.

The IIU found the use of force “reasonable” and said the matter was “now closed”.

Police said in June that one of the officers was seriously injured.

Mackay Ledingham, who was 25 when he was arrested, was on bail at the time. He was charged with two counts of dangerous driving and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and resisting arrest, possession of a stolen vehicle and failure to comply with bail. Ledingham, of Interlake Village, Riverton, was barred from sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle without the owner's consent while out on bail on May 23.

In June, police said the truck had been stolen in Stonewall a week before the crash.

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