WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

Manitoba’s police watchdog is not recommending charges for a trio of Winnipeg officers involved in an encounter with a 35-year-old man before his death. 

James Edwin Wood, 35, died on Jan. 27, 2024, after an incident with police in the Crestview neighbourhood. At the time, several witnesses told CBC News they believed officers used unnecessary force, including punching and beating Wood with a baton, during the encounter. 

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which investigates all serious matters involving police, found the officers’ actions were “reasonable in the circumstances” in its final report, dated Feb. 10 and publicly released last week. 

However, the watchdog’s acting civilian director, Bruce Sychuk, encouraged the Winnipeg Police Service to review its use-of-force policy to encourage de-escalation. That echoes previous IIU calls for the service to re-evaluate its policy. 

A use-of-force report written by an out-of-province expert determined the officers’ actions were “proportionate and aligned with the policy.” However, they added it didn’t look like the police service provided officers with training on carrying or lifting an arrested person. 

“Taking into account all the evidence available in this incident, I accept that the subject officers’ actions were reasonable in the circumstances. Therefore, no charges are recommended and the IIU investigation is now completed and closed,” Sychuk wrote. 

The three subject officers declined to be interviewed and provided statements through their counsels. 

The report says multiple people called police in the area of Fairview Lane that day reporting a disturbance. Some said a man was intoxicated and acting erratically, while some said a child may have been assaulted.

One person who had called police told investigators she was with Wood earlier and they had been drinking and doing cocaine. She believed he was “extremely intoxicated” and said he was “freaking out,” worried someone was in the house. 

The witness said Wood grabbed two children in the home and started rolling around on the ground with them in his arms, which scared the children. He let go shortly after she called police, she said. 

She said he broke a window and she ran to another apartment for help. Wood followed her out, she said, adding he may have fallen down the stairs.

She said she saw two police officers arrive and began recording video. She was told to put her phone away and go inside when a second police vehicle arrived, she said.

Several of the dozen civilian witnesses interviewed by investigators said they saw police officers holding Wood down, punching, kicking and beating him with a baton. Some said they saw officers use a conducted energy device — often referred to as a Taser — or heard the sounds of the weapon going off. 

The first officer said in a statement that he and another officer initially tried to help Wood stand up, but he fell back down and began kicking, yelling and reaching toward his waistband. 

The officer said he stepped back and drew his Taser, telling the man to comply. When he stopped kicking, the officer said he put the device back into its holster. 

A Taser report included in the document concluded none of the officers’ weapons were fired or used in stun mode during the incident.

Another officer said he “sporadically punched” Wood in the face area while restraining him. The officer estimated he punched the man two to four times to “gain compliance.”

Another officer told investigators in a statement that she struck Wood’s calf area with a baton four to six times while placing her body weight against his legs. She said the two other officers were on either side of Wood’s upper body, trying to handcuff him. 

Reports from witness officers and subject officers said Wood was told to stand up but couldn’t, so several officers carried him to the police vehicle. He soon became unresponsive and unconscious, the report said. 

One officer said police performed CPR on Wood and he was given two doses of naloxone while they waited for an ambulance to arrive. 

Medical reports show a doctor at Grace Hospital found Wood was suffering from cardiac arrest before he was transferred to Health Sciences Centre. Staff members did a CT scan and X-ray while Wood was at the Grace. A radiologist said the findings suggested Woods had a brain injury and brain swelling. 

A toxicology report found benzoylecgonine, produced when the body breaks down cocaine, in his system.  

Wood’s immediate cause of death was an anoxic brain injury — an acquired injury that can happen when the brain’s cells don’t get enough oxygen — complicated by cardiac arrest and heart disease, an autopsy found. 

Cocaine toxicity and the physiological stress caused by struggling and being restrained were “significant contributing causes” to his death, the report said. 

The IIU’s report describes the initial 911 calls as “chaotic,” with screaming and a child heard crying. The caller was “extremely scared” and worried a child could be hurt. Banging noises and a man’s yells were audible in other 911 calls, the document said. 

The watchdog said the information provided to officers during these calls affected how they assessed the scene when they arrived.