Winnipeg officers cleared in death of handcuffed man experiencing 'cocaine intoxication': police watchdog

A manwho died shortly after being handcuffed by Winnipeg policenear the Manitoba Legislature was experiencing excessive "cocaine intoxication," according to the provincial police watchdog, which has cleared officers of any wrongdoing.

Winnipeg police were called Nov.4, 2021, about a man behaving aggressively and erratically on and just off Osborne Street, in the area of the legislature grounds. Officers arrived about 7:15 p.m., statesthe report from theIndependent Investigation Unit,the civilian oversight agency for police in Manitoba.

The man was handcuffedand collapsed shortly after. The Winnipeg FireParamedic Service was on site and immediately administered CPR. The man was rushed to St. Boniface Hospital, where he waspronounced dead.

The man was later identifiedby family as George Simeonidis Jr., who ownedSanta Lucia Pizza on Corydon Avenue.

The IIUinvestigated the incident, but was delayed in the process due toautopsy and toxicology reports taking longer than anticipated, according to its report, which was released Thursday.

An autopsy was conducted on Nov.5, 2021, and the resultswhichthe investigative unit says were"critical to this investigation" were expectedwithin six months. However, IIU investigators did not receive thereports until 361 days later.

The autopsy report noted the cause of death was cocaine intoxication, with anenlarged heart being acontributing factor, the IIU said.

The toxicology report said the man had a "substantial and excessive amount" of the drug in his system, the investigative unit's report states.

In addition to the autopsy reports,investigators with the police watchdog agency reviewed information that included:

• Police dispatch call history.
• 911 telephone call history and audio.
• Officers' notes and narratives.
• Forensic identification service reports.
• Photographs of scene and exhibits.
• The fire-paramedic service'spatient care report.
• Surveillance video recordings from the Legislative Building grounds, the Canada Life building (across the street from the legislature)and Winnipeg Transit.

Investigators met with, interviewed and reviewed the written statements of 12 civilian witnesses, including firefighters and paramedics.

According to the IIU report, which doesn't mentionSimeonidis by name, the man was "acting in an incoherent, erratic and aberrant manner as he walked in, out [of] and through heavy traffic on Osborne Street," nearthelegislature grounds.

At various times, he would paceback and forth between northbound and southbound traffic orliedown on the centre line. On several occasions, he crawledon all fours, the report states.

When police arrived, the man's behaviour seemed paranoid, and he spokeincoherently, according to the report.

Officers spoke to him in an attempt to calm him and allow fire-paramedicpersonnel to assess his vital signs, but the man tried to return to the roadway, the report says. In order to stop him,officers took him to the ground and handcuffed him.

"All witnesses confirm (and corroborated by the various video footage) that the police acted to calm [Simeonidis] and allow for paramedics to treat him over concerns of his well-being," IIUcivilian director Zane Tessler wrote in his report.

"There was no police action or inaction through their application of force and restraint that contributed in any degree to [the] death," he wrote.

"The circumstances of this incident representanother tragic example of the illicit use of drugs such as cocaine. The IIU mandate was to determine whether any police officer, by action or inaction, contributed in any way to the death."

As thereare no grounds to suggest that was the case, the matter is now closed, the report states.