A Sask. man found injured hours after RCMP failed to complete requested wellness check has died

A Saskatchewan man who RCMP were supposed to perform a wellness check on, but never did, has died, prompting an investigation from the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT).

Police were asked to complete a wellness check on the man, who lived in the RM of Britannia, northeast of Lloydminster, shortly after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, an RCMP news release said.

“A physical check on the male was not completed,” the release says. Details as to why RCMP never completed the wellness check were not released.

Later that afternoon RCMP were then called to the same residence for the report of an injured man.

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Sask. police watchdog, SIRT, has launched an investigation into how RCMP responded to the calls for a wellness check of a 68-year-old man who later died.

According to a news release, SIRT received a notification from RCMP at around 6:27 p.m. on Wednesday and directed an investigation.

SIRT said at about 7:14 a.m., the Maidstone RCMP received a call from an individual requesting a wellness check on a relative after having been informed that he had died.

“This call was dispatched to an on-call member of the detachment. At approximately 4:30 p.m., the man's relative contacted RCMP again, to request an update on the wellness check, and at 4:39 p.m., the originally dispatched member departed the Maidstone detachment,” SIRT said in a release Friday afternoon.

According to SIRT, at around 5:01 p.m., RCMP received a call from another relative of the man who had physically attended to the residence, reporting that the man was seriously injured but alive.

“RCMP attended to the residence shortly after this call and located the man. EMS was contacted and transported the man to hospital where he later died,” SIRT said.

SIRT said it will examine the actions and inactions of the police when they responded to the initial call.

“Following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of the Civilian Executive Director and five SIRT investigators was deployed to Maidstone to begin their investigation. SIRT's investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, including the actions and omissions associated with the police response to the initial call for service,” SIRT said.

RCMP will maintain conduct of the investigation into the circumstances of the man's death.

SIRT said a final report will be shared within 90 days of the investigation ending.