An investigation is currently underway by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) following the recovery of an 18-year-old man’s body, and his partially submerged truck, from the sewage lagoon at Langham.
The search for the truck and the man was conducted by police following an attempted early morning traffic stop by Warman RCMP and Corman Park Police (CPPS) on Friday, August 24.
A news release issued by the provincial Ministry of Justice on Thursday, August 29 stated that SIRT was notified on Monday, August 26 by the Saskatchewan RCMP of a serious incident involving police.
SIRT’s Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT’s mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.
According to information released by the Ministry of Justice, the incident began on Friday, August 24, at approximately 1:12 a.m., when a member of the Warman RCMP detachment observed a truck being operated with no taillights on Highway 16 near Saskatoon.
The RCMP officer activated the emergency equipment on the police vehicle, but the truck failed to stop and accelerated out of sight. The RCMP member deactivated the emergency equipment and pulled to a stop at the side of the road without engaging in a pursuit.
Members of the CPPS and Dalmeny Police Service (DPS) were advised of the incident and of the vehicle’s description.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., a CPPS member observed the vehicle travelling westbound on Highway 16, being operated at a normal rate of speed, but without taillights. The truck turned off of Highway 16, but was not followed by the CPPS vehicle.
After several minutes the CPPS vehicle proceeded down the same road as the truck, without emergency equipment activated. The truck proceeded off the road into a field, and out of sight of police. Members of the RCMP, CPPS and DPS attended the area but did not re-establish contact with the truck, and departed the area a short time later.
The next morning, DPS received information that the registered owner of the truck had not returned home the previous night. A subsequent search of the area located the truck partially submerged in the sewage lagoon near Langham. An aerial search of the lagoon conducted by both RCMP and Saskatoon Police Service did not locate the truck’s owner.
The next day, a body was discovered floating in the lagoon, subsequently recovered by emergency services, and determined to be that of the truck’s registered owner, an 18-year old man.
Immediately following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of the Civilian Executive Director and five SIRT Investigators was deployed to begin their investigation. SIRT’s investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, including any relationship to the death of the 18-year old man.
According to the Ministry of Justice, 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.