Saskatchewan

Estevan, Sask., police officer injured during incident Wednesday

Multiple police forces and members of Saskatchewan's main police oversight body are in Estevan, Sask., after two separate incidents in the city Wednesday led to an officer and at least one other person getting injured, according to police officials.

SIRT investigating officer-involved shooting, suggesting 1 other person injured

A decal on a white vehicle says, 'Estevan Police'
A member of the Estevan Police Service was injured during the line of duty Wednesday morning, according to police officials. (CBC)

Multiple police forces and members of Saskatchewan's main police oversight body are in Estevan, Sask., after two separate incidents in the city Wednesday led to an officer and at least one other person getting injured, according to police officials.

Members of the Saskatchewan RCMP's general investigation section are investigating how an Estevan police officer was injured during an altercation at the city's police station. The province's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), meanwhile, is investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened there.

Officers from the Weyburn Police Service are in Estevan to help with general calls for service in the meantime, Weyburn police Chief Jamie Blunden told CBC News.

"This is a reminder of what our law enforcement officials face day in, day out," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told reporters Wednesday.

"When tragic things like today occur, we need to be there to support them as well, and through our thoughts and through our prayers."

The Estevan Police Service were called to a "serious incident" on Sixth Street shortly before 7 a.m. CST Wednesday, according to a news release.

The release offered little information about the incident, but Blunden said Estevan dispatch called the Weyburn Police Service asking for one officer to be sent to a stabbing.

The forces, about 85 kilometres apart, sometimes share officers if "something comes up that requires extra attention," he said.

One person was arrested and there is no longer a risk to public safety, Estevan's release said. Police were expected to be on scene for "several hours" as the investigation continues.

Police Chief Rich Lowen told the Estevan Mercury that officers arrested the suspect following a "serious incident" near the city's downtown, where a person was injured.

Lowen said officers then took the suspect to the police station.

He said while the suspect was being processed, the suspect got into an altercation with an officer about 9:30 a.m., resulting in serious injuries for both of them.

Lowen did not provide details on the medical condition of the officer or the suspect. He also did not discuss the condition of the person injured near the downtown, as police were reaching out to the person's family.

Estevan police called Weyburn again around 9:30 a.m. CST to ask for more officers after an incident in the cell block, Weyburn's Chief Blunden said.

An Estevan officer was "seriously injured," according to a post Moe made on X, the social media formerly known as Twitter.

CBC News has contacted the Estevan Police Service to independently confirm that one of its officers was injured in the course of duty.

An RCMP spokesperson told CBC News that Mounties are in Estevan to investigate the injuries the officer sustained during an altercation that occurred at the city's police station Wednesday.

SIRT, which investigates serious incidents involving police, has been deployed to Estevan to investigate an "officer-involved shooting" that occurred Wednesday morning, according to a post the organization made on X.

The SIRT investigation suggests at least one civilian was harmed by police. The agency launches investigations when a person suffers injury or death because of a police officer's actions, or while they're in police custody.

The Estevan Police Service said in a release Wednesday afternoon that the officer's condition had been updated to "stable." The service said it will release further details as they become available.

More details about the "respective investigations" will be provided by the "investigating agencies" when they become available, the RCMP spokesperson said.

Estevan, a city of roughly 11,000 people, is located about 185 kilometres southeast of Regina.

With files from The Canadian Press