The Saskatchewan police watchdog has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing by police officers in connection to the death of an 18-year-old whose body was discovered in a sewage lagoon more than two days after he fled a traffic stop. The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is responsible for investigating incidents involving civilians who are seriously injured or die following interactions with on-duty or off-duty police officers.
According to a recently released SIRT report, the 18-year-old’s death was attributed to acute cocaine intoxication, and there is no indication that police actions played a role in causing or contributing to the fatality. The incident began when a Warman RCMP officer attempted to stop a truck with faulty tail lights around 1 a.m. CST on August 24, 2024. Despite the officer activating emergency lights, the driver failed to pull over, leading to the officer discontinuing the pursuit shortly thereafter.
Subsequent communications over police radio described the truck, a distinctive older Chevrolet S-10 with a unique feature of a Canadian flag on the driver’s side door. A Dalmeny police officer familiar with the truck’s registered owner’s identity and address pledged to provide updates if spotted. Minutes later, a Corman Park police officer observed the truck speeding without lights and with an obscured license plate. The officer followed the vehicle at a distance without engaging emergency lights, but the truck eventually evaded police by driving through a ditch into a field out of sight.
Despite efforts to locate the truck, it was not found until the following day when a missing person report was filed and the truck was discovered by the Saskatoon Police Service aerial unit in the sewage lagoon near Langham. Subsequent investigations revealed that the affected individual exited the vehicle at some point and succumbed to acute cocaine intoxication, with no police involvement in the events leading to the fatality.
The SIRT investigation concluded that police did not pursue the truck after the initial failed stop and were not in the vicinity when it entered the lagoon. The report stated that there is no legal or factual basis to suggest police actions or inactions contributed to the individual’s death, and therefore, no criminal offenses were committed by any police officers during the incident.