Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team has concluded its investigation into the death of a Fishing Lake First Nation man after gunshots were exchanged with RCMP officers.
In September 2024, RCMP say 34-year-old Joey Desjarlais stole a van leading RCMP officers on backroads and into a field in areas around Fishing Lake First Nation.
At that time, RCMP said shotis were fired during the incident and Desjarlais died at the scene, but no further details were released.
The SIRT investigation, released on Monday says, During the chase, Desjarlais and the pursuing officers would exchange gunfire with one of the officers striking Desjarlais in the arm.
However, the report says Desjarlais eventually died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to SIRT, the officers used a reasonable amount of force based on the threat they were facing in the incident.
The report also says there is no reason to believe any criminal wrongdoing took place on behalf of the involved officers.
The full report is available here – SIRT Investigation Mar 9, 2026