No charges against RCMP officer who shot and killed Steven Iggy Dedam

The director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) says his investigation found “no reasonable grounds” that an RCMP officer broke the law when he shot and killed Steven (Iggy) Dedam in Elsipogtog back in September 2024. According to the release, officers arrived at a home in Elsipogtog First Nation on Sept. 8, 2024 after receiving 911 calls about a man who was in possession of a knife and “was thinking of suicide,” according to the SIRT release. “When officers arrived at the home, they located the male in a bedroom and tried to engage in conversation. He showed signs of intoxication and was holding multiple throwing axes, which the officers instructed him to drop or he would be tased,” SIRT said. SIRT is responsible for investigating incidents that involved “death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest to be investigated that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.” Elsipogtog First Nation is located about two hours northeast of Fredericton, New Brunswick. According to the release, after being ordered to put the weapons down, he “forcefully threw one of the axes towards the officers and others in the home,” the release said. “One officer discharged his taser, which was ineffective in stopping the male. The male attempted to throw a second axe when the other officer discharged his firearm, striking the male.” The SIRT release said Dedam was transported to hospital where he later died. While by law officers under investigation are not required to talk to SIRT investigators or provide their police notes, the Mountie involved in this incident provided a statement of events through his lawyer. The other officer on the scene that night provided an interview. “My review of the evidence indicates there are no reasonable grounds to believe the Subject Officer committed a criminal offence,” SIRT’s director Erin Nauss concluded. “I recognize that this was a tragic situation, and the events outlined in this report have been exceptionally challenging for all involved.” At the time, Dedam was one of 15 Indigenous people who died while interacting with various police forces across the country. More to come Continue Reading