Officers did nothing wrong in fatal shooting of father of 4, investigator finds

Winnipeg police officers were justified inshooting a father of four who died north of Winnipeg more than a year ago, investigators say.

A 44-year-old man died after a shooting involving policenear Birds Hill Provincial Park at the Highway 59 and Kirkness Road intersection on Sept. 20, 2015.

• Father of 4 dies in shooting involving police north of Winnipeg

On Thursday, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba confirmed none of the officers at the scene that day will be charged in connection with the shooting.

RonMacDonald, director of the Serious Incident Response Team in Nova Scotia, oversaw the independent investigation and found the three officers' actions were "unavoidable" given the circumstances.

Before the man's death in 2015, police received a call from a concerned family member who reported the man was suicidal and driving a white van. Officers found the man in Transcona and followed his vehicle.

"[Officers] conducted a stop of that vehicle and then dealt with the occupant," Zane Tessler, director of the Independent Investigation Unit, said at the time, adding he couldn't confirm whether the driver of the van had a gun. "Moments later officers were required to use their service weapons and discharge their firearms."

Officers at the scene stated the man exited the van with a gun in his hand pointed toward them.

• Man killed in Winnipeg police-involved shooting was suicidal, family says

The case was initially picked up by the IIU, as it is tasked withinvestigatingall serious incidents involving on- and off-duty police officers in Manitoba. But Tesslercited a conflict of interest, stating he knew the man who was killed, so MacDonaldfrom the Serious Incident Response Team in Nova Scotia took over.

Under MacDonald's direction the IIUinterviewed the three officers and reviewed the scene, autopsy report and other evidence gathered by Winnipeg police.

MacDonaldfocused on whether the pursuit of the man was justified and whether police were justified in the eyes of the law in shooting him.

Based on what the man's family reported to 911 dispatchers in the lead-up to the shooting, MacDonaldsaid police were "amply justified" in trying to pull the man over.

"His action of pointing his pistol at a police officer is consistent with a person who wishes to instigate a police shooting to accomplish that purpose," MacDonald writes in the report. "This is an unfortunate yet recurring circumstance seen across Canada in situations similar to this."

Manitoba's chief medical examiner has called an inquest into the death. The inquest willinvestigate whether anything might have been done to prevent the death in hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future.