The province’s police watchdog has released more details regarding an investigation into an RCMP traffic stop which injured a man last week. It happened on Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation. The man, 45, was a rear passenger in the stopped vehicle and was injured after a confrontation which resulted in officers removing him from the vehicle and placing him in handcuffs on Oct. 6. Earlier in the day around 12:27 p.m., RCMP reportedly pulled the vehicle over while it was travelling on the First Nation, but say it failed to do so initially. Eventually the vehicle did turn into the driveway of a home and came to stop. According to a Tuesday news release, two passengers, a man and a woman, exited the vehicle but were told to remain inside. SIRT says the driver was a man who self-identified as being a suspended driver with outstanding warrants to his name was arrested without incident. At approximately 12:29 p.m., SIRT says the woman passenger identified the 45-year-old man as a person with a disability. Around 12:33 p.m., SIRT says a confrontation occurred between police and the passenger in the rear-seat. Police say they informed him he was under arrest but he did not comply with requests to exit the vehicle. It was at this point when officers removed him from the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs, resulting in an injury. The incident falls within SIRT’s mandate to investigate and the organization was contacted the next day. SIRT says it will not release any further information about the incident at this time. A final report is expected to be issued to the public within 90 days of the investigation’s conclusion.
