The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) has launched an investigation into the death of a man following an RCMP-led incident on the Onion Lake Cree Nation on March 18.
According to SIRT, the agency was notified by the RCMP at about 3:52 p.m. after officers found an injured man inside a home. The notification was accepted as falling within SIRT’s mandate, prompting the agency to send out an investigative team.
The incident began earlier that morning. Around 8:18 a.m., RCMP received multiple reports that a woman was being confined in a home by her former domestic partner, a 42‑year‑old man reportedly armed with a firearm. Officers from the Onion Lake detachment responded and secured the area.
By about 9:00 a.m., the woman managed to leave the residence safely, but the man remained inside. RCMP brought in additional resources, including the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and crisis negotiators, who attempted for several hours to persuade the man to exit. Tear gas was deployed mid‑afternoon. When the man still did not emerge, ERT members approached the home and found him injured. SIRT was notified shortly afterward.
The man was removed from the home, and RCMP and EMS personnel provided medical aid. He was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 4:43 p.m.
A SIRT team—consisting of the civilian executive director and six investigators—was sent to the community. Since the residence is located just across the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was also notified, and three ASIRT investigators joined the Saskatchewan team. A community liaison will be appointed.
SIRT’s investigation will focus on police actions and the circumstances leading to the man’s death. RCMP will continue handling the investigation into the initial complaint and the man’s behaviour throughout the incident.
Three firearms—including a rifle with a spent shell casing—were seized from the scene as part of both the SIRT and RCMP investigative processes. No additional details are expected until a final report is issued within 90 days of the investigation’s conclusion.
