Two Saskatoon Police officers have been cleared following the death of a man at 20th Street and Avenue S South on June 20, 2024.

Based on a report from the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), it was determined no offence was committed.

The two officers got out of their vehicle and issued verbal commands to a 27-year-old man who matched the description of an earlier caller.  According to the SIRT report, the man did not comply and reached for his waistband and pulled out an object that look like the barrel of a shotgun.

In response, the two officers fired their service pistols. Several bullets hit the man who fell to the ground. Paramedic arrived shortly after and declared the man dead. Toxicology results showed there was cocaine, alcohol and methamphetamine in his blood, but not at levels high enough to have caused his death.

The SIRT report found the officers’ actions were “appropriate and necessary.”

The full report can be viewed here.

SIRT’s mandate is to independently investigate incidents where an individual has died or suffered serious injury arising from the actions of on and off-duty police officers, or while in the custody of police, as well as allegations of sexual assault or interpersonal violence involving police.