LANGHAM – The body of an 18-year-old has been found in a Langham area sewage lagoon after interaction with police, triggering an investigation by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team.
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.
In this case, the investigation centres on an incident in which police engaged in a pursuit of a vehicle spotted driving without taillights. The timeline as outlined in a release from the Ministry of Justice is below:
On Saturday, Aug. 24 at approximately 1:12 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 1:30 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 did not locate the truck's owner.
Monday, Aug. 26, 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.
On Monday, Aug. 26, at approximately 7:11 p.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Saskatchewan RCMP regarding a serious incident involving police.
SIRT's Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT's mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.
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. 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.
This story has been corrected with new information from the Ministry on the dates involved. A summary from the Ministry is as follows:
- The inciting incident occurred in the very early morning on Saturday, Aug. 24.
- The individual was reported missing on Sunday, Aug. 25. A subsequent search of the area on that same day located the truck partially submerged in the sewage lagoon near Langham.
- On Monday, Aug. 26, 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.
