SIRT investigating death in Carlyle RCMP custody
December 16, 2024, 2:19 pm
On Friday December 13, 2024, at approximately 9:20 a.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding an in-custody death at the Carlyle RCMP Detachment.
SIRT's Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT's mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.
On December 13, at approximately 12:20 a.m., the Carlyle RCMP received a call reporting an assault on the Whitebear First Nation. Three RCMP members responded to this call, and located two injured individuals, who were transported to hospital.
In addition to the injured parties, a 49-year-old male was arrested and transported to the Carlyle RCMP Detachment, where, at approximately 1:30 a.m., he was placed in a cell. At approximately 9:08 a.m., the man was observed to have gone into medical distress and CPR was commenced. RCMP members provided first aid until the arrival of EMS at approximately 9:26 a.m., who then assumed responsibility for the man's care. At approximately 9:55 a.m., the man was pronounced deceased by EMS.
Following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of the Civilian Executive Director and five SIRT investigators was deployed to Carlyle 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 detention and the cause of his death. The 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 investigate alleged cases of serious injury, death, sexual assault or interpersonal violence arising from the actions or omissions of on and off-duty police officers, or while an individual is in police custody.
For updates on SIRT investigations, follow SIRT on X, formerly known as Twitter, at https://twitter.com/SIRT_SK.