The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team has concluded that no charges will be laid against an RCMP officer involved in a shooting near Canwood last spring, finding the officer’s actions were justified under the law.
According to SIRT’s public report, the incident happened on May 28, 2025, after RCMP members with the Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team located a dark-coloured SUV linked to a person wanted in connection with recent firearms incidents on James Smith Cree Nation. Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle did not pull over, and a pursuit began.
The report states the SUV left the road several times during the chase and eventually travelled through a field into a pasture east of Canwood. At about 12:44 p.m., the vehicle struck an embankment and halted. The driver, identified in the report only as the affected person, then got out of the SUV, and a confrontation followed with the RCMP officer driving the lead police vehicle.
SIRT said the officer fired two shots from a service pistol. One round struck the man in the arm. He then fell to the ground and was arrested without further incident. A female passenger also got out of the SUV and was arrested. Both were taken to the hospital, where the man was treated for a gunshot wound to his left arm and the woman was treated for injuries suffered when the SUV hit the embankment.
The public report says the man exited the vehicle holding a silver-coloured handgun. It says the officer shouted commands for him to show his hands, but the man stayed behind the SUV and moved around it before returning toward the front. SIRT said the officer then fired through the front windows of the SUV. After he was hit, the man threw the handgun and also discarded a bag later found to contain the loaded magazine for the firearm.
Investigators later determined the handgun was a Norinco Model 1911 .45 calibre pistol and that it was in working condition. The report says the gun was unloaded at the time of the shooting, but SIRT concluded there was no realistic way for the officer to know that in the moment because of how quickly the incident unfolded.
SIRT’s analysis found police had lawful grounds to arrest the man on various Criminal Code charges and said the officer reasonably believed there was an immediate risk of death or grievous bodily harm. The report concluded that the force used fell within the range protected by law.
The investigation was led by SIRT after the RCMP notified the agency shortly after the shooting. A team of six investigators was deployed, and the final investigation was submitted for review on Jan. 18, 2026. The public report is dated April 10, 2026.
In the end, SIRT found there were no grounds to believe any police officer committed a Criminal Code offence, bringing the matter to a close without referring it to the Attorney General.
editiorial@paherald.sk.ca
