Man, 35, dies in Saskatoon police custody after 2 altercations with officers

SaskatchewanSaskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is looking into the case of a man who died in Saskatoon police custody after two altercations with officers.Sask. Serious Incident Response Team investigatingAlex Kozroski · CBC News · Posted: Nov 12, 2025 8:12 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A 35-year-old man died Tuesday after being taken to detention cells by Saskatoon police. (Albert Couillard/CBC)Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is looking into the case of a man who died in Saskatoon police custody after two altercations with officers.The 35-year-old died after he was taken to detention cells on Tuesday morning. SIRT’s mandate includes investigating the deaths of people in police custody.A news release from SIRT said there was a “brief physical struggle” when the man was first arrested at 8:59 a.m. CST in Saskatoon’s Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, on the 300 block of Avenue Q South near St. Paul’s Hospital. Officers took the man to Saskatoon police headquarters, arriving at 9:24 a.m., and he was placed in a cell “following a second physical struggle,” the news release said.”Almost immediately after he was placed inside the cell, the male was observed to be in medical distress,” it said. Police and on-site paramedics provided first aid, as did additional EMS personnel who arrived later, but the man was pronounced dead at 10:08 a.m.He was arrested after police were dispatched in response to a 911 call reporting the assault of a five-year-old child. Police are also investigating an alleged assault of a 40-year-old woman by the same man.ABOUT THE AUTHORAlex Kozroski is a reporter with CBC News in Regina. He has also worked as a reporter for Golden West Broadcasting in Swift Current, Sask.