SASKATOON, Sask. — Police have been cleared in the death of an 18-year-old teen who died from acute cocaine toxicity after fleeing from police and driving his older Chevrolet truck into a sewage lagoon near Langham two years ago.
Serious Incident Response Team’s (SIRT) investigation involved 12 civilian witnesses and six police officers. They reviewed video footage from Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) Aerial Support Unit, in-car digital video (ICDV) and body-worn camera (BWC). They also reviewed police dispatch recordings, radio transmission, GPS data, and the missing person investigation.
“There is no reasonable basis in either fact or law to conclude that the actions or omissions of police caused or contributed to the affected person’s death,” said Greg Gudelot, SIRT civilian executive director in a report released to the public Sept. 23.
According to SIRT, Warman RCMP first tried to stop the truck at 1:10 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2024, after seeing it driving without taillights on Highway 16, but the driver fled and officers disengaged. At approximately 1:23 a.m., a member of Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) observed the vehicle travelling westbound on Highway 16, being operated at a normal rate of speed, but without taillights.
The truck turned off of Highway 16, but CPPS didn’t follow. After several minutes the CPPS vehicle proceeded down the same road as the truck, without emergency equipment activated. The truck went off the road into a field, and out of sight of police. Members of the RCMP, CPPS and Dalmeny Police Service (DPS) attended the area but didn’t re-establish contact with the truck and left the area a short time later.
The next morning, DPS received information that the truck’s registered owner didn’t return home the previous night. A cell phone ping revealed no activity after 5 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2024. A review of banking history showed no activity since Aug. 22, 2024. After inquiries with the Saskatchewan Health Authority showed he wasn’t in any hospital, the 18-year-old was listed with the Canadian Police Information Centre as missing.
Assistance was requested from an RCMP drone operator and the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) Air Support Unit.
SPS Air Support Unit found the truck in the lagoon at about 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2024, and a DPS member attended and confirmed it was the truck associated with the attempted traffic stop.
Later that night, at approximately 10:19 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2024, the Langham Fire Department went to the scene and checked the truck, which was partially submerged. There was no one inside.
Another day later, at about 6:53 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2024, police received a call from a friend of the 18-year-old saying that their search group found his body in the lagoon.
SIRT found that after the police deliberately disengaged pursuing him, his vehicle went off the road and ended up in the sewage lagoon.
“At the time this occurred, no police officers were in contact with or close proximity to the affected person," said Gudelot. "At some point after the vehicle came to a rest, the affected person exited the vehicle and ultimately passed away as a result of acute cocaine intoxication."
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
