Sask. police watchdog clears 2 RCMP officers in 2024 Swift Current wellness check death

CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 5:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Saskatchewan's constabulary oversight enactment has cleared two RCMP officers successful the decease of a pistillate they arrested.

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is the provincial civilian-led watchdog bureau that investigates incidents involving police.

The new report looks astatine an incidental that happened connected May 5, 2024, erstwhile a 55-year-old pistillate died successful Swift Current, astir 230 kilometres westbound of Regina.

SIRT says that astatine astir 11:06 a.m. CST, a household subordinate of the 55-year-old asked for a payment cheque due to the fact that the pistillate was allegedly upset, successful symptom and couldn't beryllium convinced to spell to a hospital.

RCMP were besides made alert of the women's past with substance maltreatment and speech of self-harm.

Two officers past went to the edifice wherever the pistillate was staying and reported seeing sores connected her feet erstwhile speaking with her.

According to SIRT, an serviceman was capable to person the pistillate to spell to a infirmary and an ambulance was called.

At astir 11:40 a.m. CST, 2 paramedics arrived and entered the room, but the woman's level of co-operation changed, per the report.

"While the EMS unit were capable to implicit immoderate checks connected the affected person, she refused to let others, became uncooperative, spoke of suicide, and stated that she wished she had died during an earlier incidental with EMS," SIRT's study says.

The study says the serviceman believed helium had formed crushed to instrumentality the pistillate into custody nether the Mental Health Services Act, but told the pistillate helium preferred if she went to the infirmary voluntarily.

"When the affected idiosyncratic swatted astatine the Subject Officer arsenic helium attempted to forestall her from lighting a cigaret during the examination, helium placed her nether apprehension pursuant to The Mental Health Services Act."

The pistillate was arrested without absorption oregon usage of unit from the officers, according to the report.

SIRT says the pistillate kicked backward astatine an serviceman and deed them successful the shin, but the serviceman didn't respond and didn't usage force.

The pistillate was enactment connected a stretcher and moved into the ambulance portion handcuffed.

While connected the mode to the Cypress Regional Hospital, the 55-year-old said her handcuffs were excessively tight. When the serviceman went to set the handcuffs, the pistillate went "limp" and into "medical distress," the study says.

Police removed the handcuffs and paramedics began providing attraction for the woman.

At astir 11:58 a.m. CST, the ambulance arrived astatine the hospital. The pistillate was transferred to the attraction of aesculapian unit and was declared dormant by a doc astatine astir 12:26 p.m. CST.

SIRT concluded that the "arrest was some based connected tenable grounds, and was reasonably conducted" and determination were nary grounds to judge the RCMP officers committed immoderate offences.

The autopsy recovered the pistillate died of a "cardiorespiratory arrest," with contributing factors similar accent brought connected by her detention.