Saskatoon Police Chief Troy Cooper says the force plans on moving forward with recommendations made by a six-person jury last week after an inquest into the death of a man shot by police.

Cooper spoke to media Wednesday and said the recommendations are “well thought out, they are reasonable and they are achievable.”

He says he will meet with the inquest council and the officers who testified in the coming week to move towards those recommendations.

Joshua Megeney, 28, died from a gunshot to the head following a standoff with police on Avenue Q North in October 2016.

Officers had been called for what was reported to be a break and enter in progress.

Last week, the jury of six heard testimony from people involved in the case as part of an inquest into Megeney's death. They came up with four recommendations for Saskatoon police to prevent similar deaths.

“Their request for us to review practice, and I think that's a good thing to do in any event, but certainly any time there's an incident we review what we have, They've focused that review for us," Cooper said.

The recommendations include:

  • When firearms are confirmed to be on premises during a police call, a protocol be in place for on-scene lead officers to be able to request and to have immediate access to, without reservation, additional resources that he/she deems appropriate.
  • Pertaining to recommendation 1, we recommend TSU patrol shift officers have readily available in patrol cars a wide range of surveillance and communications tools available. Therefore, these will assist with communication between suspects and officers.
  • That standardized, formalized training and education with respect to negotiation/ communication skills be implemented to all TSU officers during initial training and continuing education. This would not be in lieu of Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) expertise, but considered a positive adjunct to both officers’ experience and natural communication abilities.
  • Policies and procedures around the breach and retreat should be reviewed in regards to risking escalating a situation without adequate intelligence.