A man was in critical condition Tuesday after Winnipeg police shocked him with a stun gun.

Police said officers were investigating a domestic incident on Balmoral Street at around 10 p.m. Monday, when they came upon the man at the rear of a building in the 300 block of nearby Kennedy Street.

Police said the man, who was not involved in the domestic incident, was belligerent and refused to follow instructions, prompting the officers to use the electronic control device.

Richard Bouchie had just stepped out onto his balcony when he heard the commotion and heard officers telling the man to stop or freeze.

"I saw cops running around the corner, and I heard Tasers going off," he said, describing the sound of the electrical pulse emitted by a stun gun.

"It sounds like a bad light, like when you turn it on, and it doesn't sound right, but it just won't stop — it keeps going," he said. "[It was] like phhht, phhht, like a clicking sound."

Bouchie said he didn't hear the man scream out and said paramedics showed up almost immediately.

Sources told CBC News the man was dry-stunned, which means the electronic device was pressed directly on his skin.

The man is now in a medically induced coma, the source said.

The incident is under investigation.

It has not been determined whether the officers' actions caused the man's critical injuries or whether he was hurt before then.

A police spokesman promised the facts of what happened would come out.

"Certainly this decision was made and we'll be transparent, we will be open and we will conduct a thorough investigation with regards to this incident and with regards to that information comes available to us we will be passing that forward to the media as well as the public," said Const. Jason Michalyshen.