The Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating the actions of two Saskatoon police officers who shot and killed a suspect.
The agency responsible for investigating the actions of police officers throughout Saskatchewan has offered a few more details of what allegedly occurred when Saskatoon officers last week shot and killed a man.
A SIRT media release issued Monday provided a brief timeline of the alleged events leading up to and immediately after the fatal shooting.
Police were called at around 10:35 a.m. with a report that a man had fired a single shot from a shotgun in the area of 20th Street West and Avenue U South, according to the SIRT media release.
The caller gave police a description of the suspect and a group of people he was allegedly travelling with, then proceeded to stay on the phone with police while providing updates on the group’s location.
The caller ended the call just before 10:45 a.m. About one minute later, two members of the Saskatoon Police Service’s tactical support unit came upon a group near 20th Street West and Avenue S South resembling the description provided by the caller.
The suspect and the officers then got into what the media release described as “a confrontation,” during which the officers fired their pistols, hitting the man.
Paramedics reportedly arrived around 10:50 a.m. and pronounced the suspect dead at the scene a short time later.
SPS notified SIRT of the incident shortly after it occurred, according to the release. A SIRT team was then sent to begin an investigation into the police actions during the incident leading to the man’s death.
The SIRT investigators reportedly recovered ammunition and “items believed to be components of a firearm” from the scene; these have been secured for further testing.
While SIRT will investigate the police service’s handling of the incident, SPS will maintain authority over any further investigation into the original call received prior to the suspect’s death.
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