New BrunswickThe actions of RCMP officers who attempted to arrest a man wanted on outstanding warrants in St. Stephen last weekend did not result in his death in the St. Croix River, a review by an independent police watchdog agency has found.Serious Incident Response Team says Nov. 14 incident does not meet its mandate, file remains with RCMPListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.It was not foreseeable that the man would enter the river when approached by police, SIRT director Erin Nauss says. (Submitted by SiRT)The actions of RCMP officers who attempted to arrest a man wanted on outstanding warrants in St. Stephen last weekend did not result in his death in the St. Croix River, a review by an independent police watchdog agency has found.Therefore, the Serious Incident Response Team, known as SIRT, will not be conducting a criminal investigation, director Erin Nauss said in an emailed statement to CBC News Friday.”The file remains with the RCMP who are responsible for determining if there are any concerns with the conduct of their officers,” she said.RCMP officials could not immediately be reached for comment.West District RCMP asked SIRT to conduct an independent review of the incident that began Nov. 14, shortly after 2:30 p.m., when two officers on patrol spotted the man on Milltown Boulevard.No information has been released about the man, including his name, age, or why he was wanted on warrants.When the officers attempted to arrest him, he fled on foot, entered the river and began swimming toward the U.S. border at Calais, Maine, RCMP said at the time. He did not resurface and RCMP divers recovered his body the following day.”When an incident is referred to SiRT and it is not immediately clear whether it meets our mandate there is a review conducted,” Nauss said.”In this case after viewing body camera footage, video from local businesses and reviewing police files, I have determined that the incident does not meet SiRT’s mandate to investigate.”SIRT investigates all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters determined to be of a public interest that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer on or off duty in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.’Tragic situation’Nauss found the officers had grounds to arrest the man, based on the outstanding warrants. They called for the man to return to shore, and when he didn’t, emergency medical services and the fire department rescue team were immediately dispatched.”The evidence is clear that the actions of the officers did not result in the death of the male, and it was not foreseeable that the male would enter the water,” SIRT said in a news release.”This is a tragic situation and SIRT offers our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the male,” the release said.The St. Croix River varies in width between St. Stephen and Calais, from about 30 metres wide near the International Bridge and 45 metres wide farther downstream. It is about nine feet, or almost three metres, deep, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Police watchdog will not criminally investigate RCMP for death of man in St. Croix River
