SIU probes Kitchener arrest of Winnipeg murder suspect

KITCHENER — The arrest of a man in Kitchener in connection with a murder in Winnipeg is being investigated by the province’s Special Investigations Unit.

The agency announced Friday it is examining the circumstances relating to injuries the 31-year-old man sustained during his arrest.

Michael Tylor Fless was arrested June 16 just after 11 a.m. in the area of Victoria Street and Westmount Road in Kitchener. He had been on the lam for more than six months.

Police were tipped off two days before that Fless might be in this region and began to investigate, spokesperson Cherri Greeno said at the time.

Fless faces murder, kidnap and robbery charges in Manitoba.

The SIU said officers with Waterloo Regional Police attempted to stop a man who was walking on Westmount Road West, just south of Karn Street.

At some point during the arrest, the man sustained an injury and was taken to hospital for treatment, SIU said in a news release.

At the time of his arrest, police couldn’t say why Fless fled to this region or describe the circumstances of his arrest.

Three SIU investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to investigate the incident.

The SIU, a civilian agency that investigates incidents involving police and civilians where there has been a death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault, urges anyone with information about this investigation to contact 1-800-787-8529, ext. 2038. Anyone with video evidence can upload that video through the SIU website at www.siu.on.ca/en/index.php