Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill said officers are investigating allegations by a man who said he was picked up by police and dropped at the outskirts of Winnipeg.
Evan Maud said he was at Main Street and Magnus Avenue last Friday around 4 a.m. and was waiting for his sister to pick him up.
Two men who Maud says appeared to be officers picked him up in an unmarked black Crown Victoria cruiser and then drove him to the south end of the city, where he was dropped off.
Maud said the men made him take off his jacket and sweater and made him change into a sweat shirt before telling him to run.
"(They said) ‘if you stop, I'll taser you in the back,'" said Maud.
He said the men were either officers or men posing as police.
McCaskill said that police take Maud's accusations seriously but face obstacles investigating because Maud will not give officers a full account of what happened.
"And we're investigating really simply based on what we're seeing in the media, which is not the best set of circumstances, but they are things we're doing and continue to do. We've reached out and tried to contact the complainant because we'd like that person to come forward, because it's really serious what he's suggesting and we want to find out the truth--exactly what has transpired," said McCaskill.
Police vehicles are equipped with GPS units which could track exactly where a cruiser travelled that night. All GPS information is housed in a secure area that rank and file members don't have access to.
Maud said he is too scared to talk to police and has instead approached the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
On Thursday, the AMC said Maud should also share his story with police investigators.
"His resistance creates questions right, and we don't want that. We want him to go forward so an investigation can be done. And so that the police can do their work and so we can continue to support him," said Grand Chief Ron Evans.
