Man injured by battle axe after trying to run from RCMP

A man'sfinger was amputated after he was injured while running from RCMP and leapingonto a bed near a battle axe.

It happened on Sagkeeng First Nation earlier this year when police were searching a residence for drugs and firearms.

The man ran from police, heading for abedroom closet, according to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which examinesall serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba.

The officer, fearing the man was rushing to get a gun, fired a round from his beanbag shotgun. The beanbag struck the man in the abdomen and caused him to leap onto a bed, but was likely hurt ona medieval-type battle axe and a large knife that were nearby, according to the IIU report.

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The man sustained bruisesto the abdomen and a serious cut to his right hand. He was taken to Pine Falls Hospital where he received 20 stitches to his hand, and where x-rays showed an object embedded in one finger.

The man later had that finger amputated at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

The IIU investigation found a tip was missing from one of the blades on the medieval battle axe seized from the bedroom and most likely caused the wound.

The man's injury was unrelated to being struck by the beanbag fired by the RCMP, said the IIU, which has determined there are no grounds for charges against the officer.

Zane Tessler, executive director of the IIU,noted in his report that some residents of the home had a history of violence, gang affiliations and illicit drug use, and there was a strong likelihood that weapons may be present.

When the man ran towards a closet and did not obey the officer's order to stop, the officer's fear that the man might arm himself "was genuine and reasonable under the circumstances," Tesslerstated in the report.

The injured man is facing charges related to the incident.