A man from Elsipogtog First Nation in northeastern New Brunswick is the fourth person in the last nine days to be killed by police.
On Sunday, according to New Brunswick’s police oversight agency, an RCMP officer fatally shot a Mi’kmaq man who Mounties say was in mental distress and would not drop a weapon.
Also on Sunday, an unnamed man from Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan died in hospital after being shot by a Mountie.
Saskatchewan RCMP say the Shellbrook detachment received an early morning call about an assault in the community.
“As officers responded and approached a residence, a confrontation occurred with the adult male causing the officers to seek cover,” the police statement said. “The adult male fled inside the residence. Two adults and two children were inside the residence.”
RCMP said the Critical Incident Response Team was assembled and, at some point, a “firearm was discharged and the adult male sustained injuries as a result.”
In New Brunswick, the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) issued a brief statement Monday explaining the officers had been dispatched to Elsipogtog, which is located 90 km north of Moncton, after receiving a report that a man was threatening to harm himself.
The statement said that when the two officers “were approached by a male carrying weapons” one of the Mounties discharged a stun gun that proved to be ineffective.
“During the response, the man refused to drop his weapon and would not cooperate with police,” the statement said. “As the situation evolved, a member discharged their firearm at the man.”
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SIRT, which takes over the investigation when a civilian has died as a result of police action, said it had limited information to share.
The police oversight agency is responsible for investigating all police matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence, or other matters of public interest.
On Aug. 30, Hoss Lightning, 15, was shot and killed by officers in Wetaskiwin, Alta. In Winnipeg, a police cruiser driving through a park collided with and killed Tammy Bateman on Sept. 3. Her father was from Sandy Bay First Nation.
With files from the Canadian Press
