MOOSE JAW — On Nov. 8, at around 12:33 a.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) about a serious incident involving police.
SIRT's civilian executive director accepted the notification as within SIRT's mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.
On Nov. 7, at approximately 11:42 p.m., the MJPS received a call reporting that a silver Honda was driving erratically and was chasing the caller's vehicle. The caller further reported that these events were preceded by a physical altercation.
At around 11:44 p.m., the MJPS received a second call about the same vehicle. At approximately 11:47 p.m., a member of MJPS operating a marked police vehicle observed the vehicle headed northbound on Main Street at a high rate of speed.
The officer turned to follow the vehicle northbound on Main Street with emergency equipment activated, and at around 11:48 p.m., radioed that the silver Honda had crashed on Main Street. EMS was requested to attend, and one of the vehicle's passengers, a 31-year-old man, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The other occupants of the vehicle, the driver and a second passenger, were conveyed to hospital for assessment and treatment.
Immediately following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of the civilian executive director and six SIRT investigators was deployed to begin their investigation.
SIRT's investigation will examine the actions of police during this incident, while the MJPS will retain responsibility for the investigation into the driver and his actions. 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 may have 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.
