Winnipeggers living on Home Street are still shaken days after police opened fire on a stolen truck in a residential neighbourhood.
The incident ended in a fiery crash when a fuel tank in the bed of the truck exploded and a home caught fire.
Bernard Carriere lives on the street, and while he didn’t see it happen on Friday, he heard everything as it unfolded.
“It was like, in quick succession. Like, ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.‘”
When Carriere eventually saw the video of two police officers shooting at a suspect in a stolen red truck in front of his house, he was scared for his neighbourhood.
“If you look in the video, you can see the little kids from across the street running into their front yard. Scary stuff.”
On Monday, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba confirmed it is investigating.
The IIU said after being shot at, the driver of the truck crashed into another police cruiser before losing control and hitting a home. An explosion happened after a fuel tank in the back of the truck caught fire.
The IIU noted no one was hurt in the incident.
“The civilian director has determined it is in the public interest for the IIU to investigate. Witnesses or other individuals who have information or video footage that may assist this investigation are asked to contact the IIU toll-free at 1-844-667-6060,” the IIU release said.
“The fact that no one was hurt, especially with the number of rounds that were fired, would suggest those officers clearly understood the backdrop to their shots,” said Kelly Sundberg, a professor of criminology in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
Sundberg said the incident is alarming since it happened in a residential area. However, he noted under the criminal code, the officers were within their rights to use their firearms to stop an erratic driver who was in the process of committing a crime.
“I would be quite astonished if those officers were found in the wrong. That vehicle was moving towards them. They were out of their vehicles. They could have easily been killed, as could have the children and other citizens in that area.”
Carriere feels the response from police seemed like a lot for a stolen truck.
“They could have let it go and found it somewhere else or whatever,” he said. “I understand that maybe they did drive towards the police and that was why they were shot at.”
The Winnipeg Police Service told CTV News the officers involved were placed on leave, which follows protocol. Police said with the IIU investigating, no other comment would be given.
