Police watchdog investigating after video shows Winnipeg officers kneeling on man, holding him by hair | CBC News
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Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating after Winnipeg police said a bystander recorded its officers kneeling on a man and holding him by his hair during an arrest last month.
On Friday, Winnipeg police notified Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit — which investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba — that a bystander sent video taken of a Feb. 12 arrest by its officers, the watchdog said in a Tuesday news release.
The video shows an officer standing over a man lying on his stomach on the ground, the release says. Another officer then “approaches, kneels and appears to strike” the man in the head or shoulder area before handcuffing him, police told the watchdog.
The man is shown being helped to his feet and taken to the back of a truck, where police said he was searched, according to the watchdog.
An officer is then seen “taking hold of the [man] by the hair” and leading him to a marked cruiser, before grabbing him by his collar and belt and forcefully placing him in the back seat, police told the watchdog.
The watchdog says its civilian director determined that it is in the public interest to investigate the incident.
Witnesses or individuals with information or video footage that could help investigators are asked to contact the IIU toll-free at 1-844-667-6060.
Man resisted police
The man, 35, was arrested with a 34-year-old woman after they were accused of robbing and stabbing a man following a verbal dispute at a parking lot in the West Broadway neighbourhood on Feb. 9, police said in a Feb. 13 news release.
Manitoba’s integrated violent offender apprehension unit — a provincial police unit that targets violent criminals — arrested the man and woman at a Notre Dame Avenue home near the Health Sciences Centre. Police said they were wanted on robbery and aggravated assault charges.
The man tried to flee through a window when officers arrived, but he was taken into custody after a brief foot chase, and he was found carrying a small amount of methamphetamine, police said.
In addition to the robbery and assault charges, the man was also charged with resisting a police officer and possessing meth, police said.
He was also wanted on an “unlawfully-at-large” warrant, according to police.