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Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team has launched an investigation after an 18-year-old man’s body was recovered from a sewage lagoon the day after police made two attempts to stop his truck for driving without taillights.
According to the Ministry of Justice, a Warman RCMP officer spotted the truck driving without its taillights on Highway 16 near Saskatoon on Saturday at around 1:12 a.m. The officer tried to stop the truck, but the driver accelerated and took off.
“The RCMP member deactivated the emergency equipment and pulled to a stop at the side of the road without engaging in a pursuit,” the ministry said in a statement.
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A few minutes later, an officer with the Corman Park Police Service (CPSS) – who had been given a description of the truck by the RCMP – spotted the vehicle heading west on Highway 16, the ministry said.
“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 ministry said.
“The truck proceeded off the road into a field, and out of sight of police.
Officers with the RCMP, Corman Park Police and Dalmeny Police Service visited the area, but the ministry said they weren’t able to locate the truck, “and departed the area a short time later.”
The next morning, the ministry said police in Dalmeny were told that the truck’s registered owner hadn’t returned home the previous night.
A search was launched, and the truck was found partly submerged in a sewage lagoon near Langham.
“The next day, 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,” the ministry explained.
The man’s death and the conduct of police during the incident are now under investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team, which conducts independent investigations whenever a person dies or suffers serious injury “arising from the actions of on and off-duty police officers, or while in the custody of police.”
A report will be made public within 90 days of the investigation’s conclusion, the ministry noted.
Editor’s note: the date of the events was changed after incorrect information was provided by government
