Joey Desjarlais died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound, SIRT has reported. (Image Credit: submitted/Sask RCMP)

By Susan McNeil

No offence committed by police

SIRT report shows death on Fishing Lake First Nation was result of self-inflicted wound

Mar 9, 2026 | 4:01 PM

The death of a man being pursued by RCMP in Fishing Lake in September 2024 was due to a shotgun wound to his head, according to a report from the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) released on Monday.  

The report into the death of Joey Desjarlais, 34, showed that the fatal wound was self-inflicted following a pursuit by police and an exchange of gunfire.  

Desjarlais was let out on statutory release from a federal penitentiary in April of 2024, but by August, had a Canada-wide warrant out for his arrest after he failed to abide by his release conditions.  

He also accumulated several warrants for multiple offences across East Central Saskatchewan. This included theft, robbery, and a residential break and enter in which he stole several guns, including a 20-gauge shotgun.  

The RCMP’s Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team was tasked with apprehending Desjarlais, but because of his criminal history, that job was given to the Emergency Response Team (ERT).  

No offence committed by police

SIRT report shows death on Fishing Lake First Nation was result of self-inflicted wound

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On Sept. 24, 2024, RCMP officers learned Desjarlais was seen in Fishing Lake in a white van. When they saw the van, they tried to pull it over but Desjarlais did not stop and drove away.  

About five minutes later, a caller to 911 reported that Desjarlais had just stolen a 15-passenger van belonging to the local school. The caller said they believed he had a gun.  

Police pursued the van for almost 40 minutes and over 70 kilometres, with speeds ranging from 100 km/h to 140km/h.  During the chase, Desjarlais managed to avoid a tire deflation device that had been laid out.  

The van then pulled into a lane heading towards the residential area of the community before stopping and parking perpendicular to the approaching ERT vehicle.  

According to the report, an ERT officer saw Desjarlais raise a shotgun and point it out of the driver’s side window, so he used his service pistol and shot several rounds into the van’s windshield. One bullet hit Desjarlais in the arm, leading to a non-fatal injury.  

As the ERT officer was in the process of getting out of his vehicle, which had been damaged after contacting the van during the pursuit, Desjarlais drove away again, looping around a nearby home before driving back towards officers.  

A second ERT officer left their vehicle and discharged several rounds, only hitting the van.  

Desjarlais then drove across a field and down an ATV trail towards another residential area of the First Nation. He was approaching a main road when the van veered to the right, and he discharged the shotgun, killing himself while the van was still in motion.  

Because officers did not know that Desjarlais was deceased and the van was still moving slowly, one of the officers in pursuit used their vehicle to contact the van, enmeshing the bumpers and dragging the van to a stop.  

Verbal commands were issued to exit the vehicle and officers saw no movement from inside the van, so they deployed a drone which showed Desjarlais lying on the floor of the vehicle.

A police service dog that was deployed also got no response. Officers pulled Desjarlais from the van, began first aid and called for nearby EMS to provide care. He was pronounced deceased 20 minutes later.  

In talking to civilians, SIRT investigators learned that Desjarlais had made comments about killing himself shortly before the incident began and evidence showed the shotgun had come in contact with his skin or was very close when it was discharged.  

In addition to eyewitnesses, SIRT used civilian videos that had been taken along with video from the police vehicles as part of the investigation.  

By law, SIRT is called when police contact results in injury or death. The investigators also determine if police actions were legal.  

Given the level of danger to officers involved in the pursuit and to the public, SIRT concluded that there were no grounds to believe an offence was committed by officers and the matter was concluded without referral to the Attorney General for charges.  

SIRT interviewed 22 police officers and seven civilians as part of the investigation.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com