The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team has concluded its investigation into an in custody death in Wilkie, which happened December 6th of 2023, and has found there are no grounds to believe an offence was committed by any police officer.

On December 5th of 2023 around 7:45 pm, Saskatchewan RCMP responded to a request for a wellness check at a home in Wilkie. The 35-year-old woman wasn’t there but then around 9:30, there was a 911 call from a different Wilkie home where the woman was located.

The SIRT report says she had a knife nearby that she would hold if RCMP moved towards her, and the officers believed the threat was to harm herself, not them. While officers tried to talk to her, she continued to take drugs. At one point, when the woman pulled a bag of drugs from inside her pants, the two officers attempted to move closer but she grabbed the knife, so they drew their weapons and then one of the holstered his firearm and drew his conducted energy weapon. She became more cooperative and the officers tried to put her in handcuffs but she fought back, kicking an officer in the chest.

An ambulance was requested to examine the woman, who had a pre-existing cut on her forearm, before she was to be transported for a mental health evaluation. She was inside the ambulance for about 20 minutes and was then given the okay for transport and was released back into police custody. The 35-year-old hadn’t yet left the ambulance when she went into medical distress. She was transported to hospital but was pronounced dead just after midnight on December 6th of 2023. An autopsy determined she died of combined drug toxicity.

Click here for the SIRT Report: SIRT report Wilkie death