Plainclothes officer investigating homicide fatally shot man in Regina: police watchdog

The Regina police officer who shot and killed a 29-year-old man in Regina's North Central neighbourhood on Friday was in plain clothes, according to an interim report by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT).

SIRT is an independent civilian-led unit responsible for investigating incidents where people are hurt or killed during interactions with police in Saskatchewan.

The agency released new details of the fatal shooting on Tuesday. The Regina Police Service (RPS) had previously released no details about the victim.

According to SIRT, the man who police killed was wanted in connection with a homicide investigation. Plainclothes officers were working on that investigation in the area on the morning of the fatal shooting.

SIRT's report said two officers spotted the man on a bike, before confronting him in an alley between Athol and Garnet streets, near Buffalo Meadows Park, at 10:12 a.m. CST.

Both officers exited unmarked police vehicles and had a verbal confrontation with the man, issuing "verbal commands," the report said.

"One plainclothes member of RPS discharged [a] single round from a service pistol," SIRT said. The bullet hit the man, the report said.

The officers called EMS, which arrived at 10:17 a.m. and pronounced the 29-year-old dead at 10:19 a.m.

RPS reported the incident to SIRT at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Once SIRT investigators arrived on the scene, a "replica firearm" was recovered and "has been seized as an exhibit" in the on-going investigation.

SIRT will release a full report within 90 days of the investigation ending. The agency is asking anyone who may have witnessed the fatal shooting or have video of it to contact them.

The original homicide investigation will remain with RPS.

At an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, RPS Deputy Chief Lorilee Davies said the officer who killed the man has been with the force for 22 years and is currently off work, working with SIRT.

Both officers involved in the shooting work in a plainclothes investigative unit, Davies said.

"We have a very strong and robust policy when it comes to incidents like that — balancing the investigation and also member wellness," Davies said. 

The homicide investigation the two officers were working on started on July 14, when a 53-year-old man was found dead on the 3000 block of Fourth Avenue in Regina.