Suicide by cop in Canada

Ex-soldier had pellet gun when shot by police: report
Taser used but ineffective in incident

Bruce Owen, Winnipeg Free Press
Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2007


WINNIPEG -- A man shot to death by Winnipeg police this week spent two decades with the Canadian military, but was discharged in 2004 because of anger management issues, the Winnipeg Free Press learned Wednesday.

Roy Thomas Bell, 42, was shot and killed behind a city apartment building Monday night in an incident some residents have described as "suicide by cop."

A family acquaintance told the Free Press the distraught man confronted police carrying a pellet gun that closely resembled a real firearm.

Witnesses say Mr. Bell ignored repeated demands from two officers to drop the replica pistol and, at one point, dared officers to shoot him.

Mr. Bell served more than 23 years in the 17 Wing post office at CFB Winnipeg, but was discharged three years ago when the military deemed he was unfit for active duty overseas, a family acquaintance said Wednesday.

There have been several reports of disturbing incidents involving Winnipeg soldiers recently.

In August, a Winnipeg soldier who served in Kandahar for two months last year was charged in with seriously assaulting his six-month old triplet sons.
One of the babies suffered fractured ribs, a punctured lung and contusions to his liver.
The 24-year-old soldier cannot be named because Child and Family Services has removed the children.

Another former Canadian soldier is still behind bars after allegedly trying to contact a teenage girl he was accused of sexually assaulting.
Roger Borsch, 35, made national headlines last year after becoming the first soldier to successfully use post-traumatic stress disorder as a defence.
Mr. Borsch admitted to breaking into a co-worker's home in 2004 and sexually assaulting her 13-year-old daughter at knifepoint.
He claimed his mind had been affected by horrific killings he said he witnessed a decade earlier in Bosnia.
However the not-guilty verdict was later overturned on appeal and a new trial has been ordered.

Winnipeg Free Press


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