Saskatchewan’s police watchdog is investigating an incident that led to the suspension of five Saskatoon police officers.
A sixth officer is also off work because of an unrelated incident, Chief Cameron McBride confirmed Friday at a news conference.
Police did not issue any public statements about the suspensions. Rather, they called the news conference in response to media inquiries.
WATCH | Saskatoon police chief confirms 6 officers suspended after 2 separate incidents:
McBride said the SPS did not inform the public about the suspensions because, “there is an internal investigation going on and the facts are not fully realized. It would have been imprudent to provide details about something that we don’t fully understand.”
“At the core, every staff member deserves fairness and due process,” he said.
He added that suspending a group of officers is not the norm.
“This has not occurred for some time, and it is unusual.”
McBride would not give the rank or ages of the officers, any details about what led to the suspensions or why the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is involved.
The civilian-led agency is supposed to provide oversight of police agencies and, according to its website, is called when “a person suffers serious injury or death, either in police custody or as a result of a police officer’s actions, or in relation to an allegation of sexual assault or interpersonal violence.”