REGINA—A 26-year-old RCMP officer was struck and killed by a truck he pulled over in rural Saskatchewan on Saturday morning, police said as they pledged to get to the bottom of what happened.
Const. Shelby Patton had been following the truck, which was allegedly stolen from Manitoba, before attempting a traffic stop in Wolseley, Sask., at about 8 a.m., Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore told a news conference.
“This morning, I, along with the Indian Head detachment commander and the Saskatchewan RCMP chaplain, had to tell Const. Patton’s wife the difficult news that he is not coming home,” Blackmore said. “I am heartbroken for her and her family.”
She said Patton was hit by the truck while outside of his cruiser conducting the traffic stop. He died at the scene.
Blackmore said the truck drove off and was found in a rural area northeast of Francis, Sask., two hours later.
A man and a woman are in police custody, but there’s no word on what charges they may face. Their names have not been released.
The Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Blackmore said Patton had been a member of the RCMP for six years and four months, working out of the Indian Head detachment.
She said he cultivated a reputation as a hardworking, dedicated police officer.
“The detachment commander actually mentioned to me, to create the ideal RCMP member, you would clone Shelby Patton,” she said.
“Const. Patton’s family is also part of the RCMP family. They have lost a husband, son and brother.”
A councillor in Wolseley said the area in the centre of his town remains blocked off.
Tim Taylor said he heard sirens at 8 a.m., adding there have been many officers in the community ever since.
Ken Drever, another councillor in Wolseley, said the community is shaken by what happened.
“You’re obviously upset,” he said. “Something like this is something you don’t expect to happen here. We’re just a small Prairie community. It’s the sort of thing that you expect to be reading about, hearing about somewhere else.”
