No charges against RCMP officers after death in custody on James Smith Cree Nation

Five James Smith Cree Nation community peacekeepers responded but remained outside awaiting RCMP because of concerns about the man’s physical size, mental health issues and previous unpredictable behaviour.

Three RCMP officers arrived around 8:39 a.m.

According to the report, an officer who had dealt with the man previously began speaking with him through an open door before stepping inside around 8:45 a.m. The officer asked whether he had taken his medication and repeatedly tried to persuade him to come outside.

SIRT found the officer remained calm while the man was verbally confrontational and made statements demonstrating he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

The officer continued speaking with him inside the home. The man twice said he would “fight to the death,” according to the report.

Around 8:51 a.m., an officer told him he was under arrest. The man ran out the back door, and the three officers pursued him on foot.

SIRT found police had lawful grounds to take him into custody under Saskatchewan’s Mental Health Services Act.

After running a short distance, the man stopped and raised his hands. He lay on the ground while an officer held his wrist, and police applied handcuffs.

Two officers drew conducted energy weapons during the pursuit, but neither fired.

While being handcuffed, the man shouted that he was having a heart attack and was going to die. He repeatedly told officers to get off his back.

SIRT found video evidence showed no officer was applying pressure to his back. One officer had a knee on his left shoulder while another maintained control of his upper right arm.

Around 8:52 a.m., one officer left to retrieve a police vehicle. The other two continued restraining the man around his shoulders or upper arms as he struggled.

The report said officers spoke calmly, encouraged him to breathe and told him they would take him to hospital for assessment.

Around 8:54 a.m., the man stopped responding verbally and ceased struggling.

An officer checked his pulse and rolled him onto his side around 8:55 a.m., asking him to sit up. He did not respond verbally but could be heard making snoring noises.

Officers continued trying to rouse him and asked what he had taken. They began removing his handcuffs around 8:57 a.m., checked his pulse again and rolled him onto his back.

After another pulse check, an officer who had previously worked as a primary care paramedic announced the man was unconscious and not breathing. She began chest compressions around 8:58 a.m.

The first of several doses of naloxone was administered around 9 a.m., without effect. An automated external defibrillator was retrieved from the band hall and advised that no shock should be delivered.

The three officers and community peacekeepers took turns performing CPR continuously until paramedics arrived around 9:42 a.m.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead around 9:44 a.m.

Investigators interviewed six RCMP officers and 13 civilian witnesses, including family and community members, peacekeepers and responding EMS staff.

SIRT also reviewed police body-camera footage, recordings from police vehicles and community surveillance video. The report said the recordings provided comprehensive coverage from the officers’ first contact with the man until he was pronounced dead.

One civilian witness reported seeing an officer discharge a conducted energy weapon. Investigators seized the three officers’ devices and downloaded their usage data.

SIRT found the data and video evidence conclusively established that no conducted energy weapon was fired during the encounter.

The autopsy found no life-threatening physical injuries that could have caused or contributed to the man’s death. Toxicology testing found methamphetamine at a level that could have caused or contributed to his death.

In its analysis, SIRT concluded officers made prolonged efforts to persuade the man to accompany them for mental health care before attempting to arrest him.

It found he was initially taken into custody with no meaningful use of force and that the subsequent restraint remained responsive to his resistance. The report said his physical size complicated the officers’ ability to change the restraint without his co-operation.

SIRT also concluded the evidence fell far short of establishing the wanton or reckless disregard for life or safety required for negligence-based criminal offences.

“Throughout the incident, the involved officers demonstrated prolonged attempts to engage peacefully with the affected person,” the report stated.

The investigation was closed without charges or a referral to Saskatchewan’s attorney general.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

by paNOW Staff

No charges against RCMP officers after death in custody on James Smith Cree Nation

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