Winnipeg police defend kicking suspect during arrest, release video

Jun 12, 2020 | 1:16 PM

Winnipeg police are defending their actions and reaching out to Indigenous leaders after a video surfaced showing officers kneeing and kicking a man during an arrest.

A blurry, 74-second video posted online shows three officers trying to turn a man on the ground over to handcuff him.

One officer knees the man in the back, another officer walks up and kicks the man, a taser is deployed and the man is soon is cuffs.

The Winnipeg Police Service has released a longer and clearer video taken from nearby security cameras that shows the man throwing what appears to be a handgun to the ground before police tackle him.

Police spokesperson Const. Jay Murray says police received reports of a man armed with a gun and metal pipe who was threatening people on a street, and officers responded appropriately.

Murray says the officers’ actions were aimed at handcuffing the suspect and getting his hands away from a knife in his waistband.

Flinn Nolan Dorian, 33, has been charged with several offences including possession of a weapon.

Murray says police Chief Danny Smyth has reached out to Indigenous leaders to discuss the arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2020

The Canadian Press