Man who died in Winnipeg police custody Sunday night had trouble breathing during arrest: watchdog

A man who died in Winnipeg police custody on Sunday night struggled to breathe during his arrest, Manitoba's police watchdog says.

TheIndependent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigatesserious incidents involving police in the province, says it was notified about the man's in-custody death by the Winnipeg Police Service on Monday and is investigating.

Winnipeg police told the IIU officers were called to Sherbrook Street, in the West Broadway area, shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday, with a report of a man"acting erratically" in traffic, a Tuesday news release from the police watchdog said.

The man started to have difficulty breathing during his arrest, according to the release. He received immediate medical care fromWinnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members, who were nearby responding to anunrelated incident, police told the investigative unit.

The man was taken toHealth Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

The age and identity of the man have not been released, as the police watchdog agency says itsinvestigation is ongoing. However, he has been identified and his family have been notified, according to the IIU.

On Monday, Alex Braun and Sarah Struthers told CBC Newsthey saw what they believe were two police officers repeatedly punching a man who was lying on the ground near Broadway and Sherbrook Street on Sunday night.

Braun and Struthers say they also saw more people they believed were police officers grab another man near the scene, slamminghim against a cruiser before tackling him to the ground.

A video provided toCBC News by Braun shows a man on the ground, with two police officers pinning him down. Braun said he saw the man being hit from both sides in the head and torso while police were on top of him.

Bystander footage shows Winnipeg police hit man on ground

(WARNING: This video contains graphic content):

Video shows man pinned to ground by police

1 year ago

Duration 1:01

Warning: This video contains graphic content. A video submitted to CBC News shows a man on the ground, with police officers pinning him down, in Winnipeg's Sherbrook Street and Broadway Avenue intersection. It's unclear whether this is the same person who later died in hospital after being taken into custody in the same area.

In a news releaseMonday, Winnipeg police said a man went into medical distress and died after being taken into custody just before 11 p.m. Sunday in the Broadway and Sherbrook area.

However, they wouldnot say if the man who died was the same one shown in Braun's video. There were two incidents in the area around that time, according to police.

The Independent Investigation Unit says it has made a requestto the Manitoba Police Commission for a civilian monitor in its investigation into the in-custody death.

Under provincial regulations, a civilian monitor whois responsible for monitoring the progress of an IIU investigation is required in cases where a person's death may have beenthe result of a police officer's actions.

The police watchdog is asking anyone with information or footage of the Sunday night incident to contact the IIU toll free at 1-844-667-6060.