According to the Winnipeg Police Department, the incident started around noon on Thursday, when an off-duty officer was shopping in the mall and saw a store clerk chasing a man holding a lot of goods. Police said the officer then followed them outside where he saw three men carrying goods. He then identified himself as a police officer and told the suspects to return to the store. At this point, police allege that one suspect told the other to “spray” him and he showed a box of bear spray to the officer. As the three suspects left to board a bus, a second man approached the police officer, identified himself as a second off-duty officer and offered to help. The suspects boarded the bus and the off-duty officers called police for help. According to police, the off-duty police officers then approached the bus and identified themselves. Police say the three suspects got off the bus and confronted police, with one accusing them and another spraying bear spray as they fled. Police managed to grab one of the suspects, who said he was in custody. Police said the suspect then spray-painted a bear directly on the face of one of the off-duty officers, which temporarily blinded him. The two police officers and the suspect then fell to the ground, as the suspect allegedly continued to resist the arrest and spray with bear spray. Police said one of the suspects who had escaped ran back and started attacking the off-duty police officers, throwing stones. Police officers on duty rushed to the spot and arrested all three suspects. The off-duty officers underwent decontamination procedures, but were not otherwise injured. Police found the stolen goods and bear spray. Rene Jordan Black, 23, Peter Edwin Morrison Black, 19, and Thomas Robert Stanley Kent, 24, were charged with multiple offenses, including two counts of assault with a firearm, two counts of assaulting a peace officer and one count of robbery. None of the charges have been proven in court. The three suspects remain in custody.
