On Monday, August 26, 2024, at approximately 7:11 p.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding an individual who was discovered deceased near Langham following earlier contact with members of several police services.
SIRT’s Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT’s mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT. The report of the investigation was released on September 23, 2026. The SIRT Civilian Executive Director’s public report concluded that the person died of acute cocaine toxicity and that police actions did not in any way contribute to the person’s death.
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.
The SIRT report is printed below:
Introduction
On Monday, August 26, 2024, at approximately 7:11 p.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a no fica on from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding a serious incident involving police. SIRT’s Civilian Executive Director accepted the no fica on as within SIRT’s mandate and directed an investigaton by SIRT.
On Saturday, August 24, 2024, at approximately 1:10 a.m., a member of the Warman RCMP detachment observed a truck being operated with no taillights on Highway 16 near Saskatoon. The member 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 Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) and Dalmeny Police Service (DPS) were advised of the incident and of the vehicle’s description.
At approximately 1:23 a.m., a member of CPPS 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 (SPS) 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, subsequently referred to as the affected person.
Timeline
SIRT was notified of the incident on August 26, 2024, at approximately 7:11 p.m. A SIRT team consisting of the Civilian Executive Director and five SIRT investigators was immediately deployed to begin the investigation. On June 24, 2026, the completed investigation was submitted to the Civilian Executive Director for review.
The Investigation
SIRT’s investigation was comprehensive and thorough, conducted using current investigative protocols, and in accordance with the principles of Major Case Management. During the course of the investigati on, all relevant police and civilian witnesses were interviewed, a scene examination was conducted at the location of the vehicle recovery and all relevant documentary, video, and audio evidence was seized.
Twelve civilian witnesses were interviewed during the investigation, including friends of the affected person who were in his company prior to contact with police, members of the search party who ultimately located the affected person’s body, and members of the Langham Fire Department who were involved in the recovery of the affected person’s body and vehicle.
Six police officers were interviewed during the course of SIRT’s investigation and were designated as Witness Officers in accordance with The Police Regulations. These included members of the RCMP, DPS, and CPPS, who were involved in the attempt to stop or locate the affected person’s vehicle. As a result of independent evidence establishing the actions and locations of police during the incident, no members were designated as Subject Officers during the course of SIRT’s investigation.
Video footage relevant to the investigation was obtained from a variety of sources including the SPS Air Support Unit, as well as in-car digital video (ICDV) and body-worn camera (BWC) footage from the involved police services. Audio evidence gathered during the inves ga on included police dispatch recordings and radio transmission. Documentary evidence including GPS data, dispatch and call information, and the missing person investigation that was ultimately initiated were also gathered during the course of SIRT’s investigation.
An autopsy examination and toxicology testing were conducted following the recovery of the affected person’s body. These reports confirmed the absence of any physical injuries that either caused or contributed to the affected person’s death and determined that the affected person’s cause of death was acute cocaine toxicity.
Summary
On Friday, August 23, 2024, the affected person attended a residence in Saskatoon, arriving between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., and departed at approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024.
Shortly after the affected person’s departure, two members of the Warman RCMP Detachment, operating a fully marked patrol vehicle, observed a vehicle approaching them that attracted their attention due to unevenly lit headlights. When the vehicle passed, the members observed that the vehicle was being operated without tail lights, and the RCMP members executed a U-turn and actvated their emergency equipment in an attempt to pull the vehicle over on Highway 16. The vehicle failed to stop, and after a short time, the members made the decision to discontinue their attempt to stop the vehicle, deactivated their emergency equipment and pulled their patrol vehicle over to the side of the road.
At approximately 1:11 a.m., the RCMP members requested that a file be created reporting the failed traffic stop and inquired whether there were any CPPS members in the area. At approximately 1:12 a.m., the RCMP members announced the failed traffic stop over the radio and provided a description of the vehicle and its last known direction of travel, headed westbound on Highway 16 towards the town of Langham. The vehicle in question was distinctive, an older Chevrolet S-10, with a mismatched driver’s side door painted with a Canadian flag.
A member of CPPS acknowledged the transmission and indicated that he would travel to that area. Based on the distinctive vehicle descrip on, a member of the DPS indicated that he believed he knew the identity and address of the registered owner, the affected person, and would advise if he saw anything. At approximately 1:23 a.m., the CPPS member radioed that he had located a vehicle matching the RCMP’s description at the intersection of the Dalmeny Grid and Highway 16. The vehicle was reported to be travelling at approximately 110 km/h, with no lights on and the license plate obscured. The CPPS member indicated that he had not attempted to stop the vehicle and was following at a distance.
At 1:34 a.m. on August 24, 2024, the truck pulled onto a back road near Langham. A short time after, the truck left the road and travelled through the ditch, entering a field west of Langham. At this time, the RCMP members who had a empted the initial vehicle stop confirmed over the radio that the vehicle stop in question related solely to offences under the Traffic Safety Act, as opposed to the Criminal Code, and to discontinue attempts to engage the vehicle. Members discussed over the radio that it was unlikely the vehicle would get far as it was raining heavily and the vehicle in question was only a two-wheel drive truck.
The police officers from the various involved services met near the side of the road where they had lost sight of the vehicle to debrief, and shortly thereafter cleared the area with no further interaction with the vehicle or attempts to locate it.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on August 24, 2024, the member of DPS who had been involved in the attempt to locate the vehicle the night before attended to the residence of the affected person and spoke with family members, who described the behavior as unusual and had become worried about the affected person’s absence.
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, at approximately 9:30 a.m., the DPS member again contacted the affected person’s family, who told the member that they had still not heard from the affected person. The member generated a missing person file and took various investigative steps in furtherance of that investigation. A ping of the affected person’s cell phone revealed no activity after 5:00 a.m. on August 24, 2024, and a review of the affected person’s banking history revealed no activity since August 22, 2024. Saskatchewan Health Authority was consulted and confirmed that there was no record of the affected person in any hospital. Following these negative inquiries, the affected person was listed with the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) as missing.
Assistance was requested from both an RCMP drone operator and the SPS Air Support Unit (ASU) to attempt to locate the affected person. At approximately 8:45 p.m. on August 25, 2024, SPS ASU reported a truck matching the description of the affected person’s vehicle in a sewage lagoon northwest of Langham. The DPS member attended and confirmed that the truck was the vehicle associated with the attempted traffic stop and the affected person.
At approximately 10:19 p.m. on August 25, 2024, the Langham Fire Department attended to the sewage lagoon and checked the vehicle, which was partially submerged. There was no one in the vehicle and the vehicle was towed out of the lagoon.
On Monday, August 26, 2024, at approximately 6:53 p.m., police received a call from a friend of the affected person stating that a search group had found a body in the lagoon.
Analysis
Following a full review of the evidence gathered during this investigation, it is clear that the involved officers attempted a lawful vehicle stop on the affected person’s vehicle pursuant to provisions of The Traffic Safety Act. The affected person failed to stop as required and fled from police. The RCMP members who had attempted the traffic stop rapidly disengaged from the attempt to stop him, and did not initiate a pursuit, but advised members of the various other police services operating in the area of the encounter. While the affected person’s vehicle was ultimately re-located, a review of police vehicle GPS data, and ICDV footage conclusively establishes that there were no attempts to stop the affected person’s vehicle after the initial attempt by RCMP members.
Following the deliberate disengagement by police, the affected person’s vehicle proceeded off the road and ultimately came to a rest partially submerged in a sewage lagoon. At the time this occurred, no police officers were in contact with or close proximity to the affected person. At some point after the vehicle came to a rest, the affected person exited the vehicle and ultimately passed away as a result of acute cocaine intoxication.
There is no reasonable basis in either fact or law to conclude that the actions or omissions of police caused or contributed to the affected person’s death, and accordingly, there are no grounds to believe that a Criminal Code offence was committed by any police officer during this incident.
Decision
There being no grounds to believe an offence was commi ed by any police officer, SIRT’s involvement with this ma er is concluded without referral to the A orney General for Saskatchewan in accordance with S.91.08(10)(a) of The Police Act, 1990.
Original Signed
September 17, 2026