Released on September 10, 2024
On Sunday, September 8, at approximately 8:55 a.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Saskatchewan RCMP regarding an officer-involved shooting that had just taken place on the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
SIRT's Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT's mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.
On September 8, at approximately 6:45 a.m., the Shellbrook RCMP were dispatched to a report that a 27-year-old female had been assaulted with a machete. Members attended the location of the call and the female was subsequently transported to hospital by EMS. At approximately 7:21 a.m., two members of the RCMP arrived at a second residence, where the initial assault was reported to have occurred in an attempt to locate the subject of that call, a 31-year-old man. Shortly after their arrival, a confrontation occurred between the man and RCMP members which caused the officers to withdraw and seek cover.
The members on scene called for backup and contained the residence while awaiting additional resources. During the time that the residence was contained, the male exited and returned to the residence on several occasions and engaged in several verbal exchanges with police. Additional RCMP resources arrived at the residence, and at approximately 8:38 a.m., a confrontation occurred between the man and police, during which one member of the RCMP's Emergency Response Team (ERT) discharged a single round from a service firearm, striking the man.
Following the shot, RCMP members provided first aid to the man and contacted EMS. EMS arrived at the scene and assumed responsibility for the man's care, ultimately pronouncing him deceased at the scene.
Immediately following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of the Civilian Executive Director and five SIRT investigators was deployed to begin their investigation. A community liaison will also be appointed pursuant to S.91.12 (1) (a) of The Police Act, 1990. SIRT's investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, including the circumstances surrounding the man's death. RCMP will maintain responsibility for any investigation into the original incident. No further information will be released at this time. A final report will be issued to the public within 90 days of the investigation ending.
SIRT's mandate is to independently investigate incidents where an individual has died or suffered serious injury arising from the actions of on and off-duty police officers, or while in the custody of police, as well as allegations of sexual assault or interpersonal violence involving police.
For updates on SIRT investigations, follow SIRT on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SIRT_SK.
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