Police oversight agency called to Wilkie, Sask., after death in RCMP custody

Saskatchewan's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), the province's police oversight agency, is investigating a woman's death after she was taken into RCMP custody Tuesday.

At approximately 7:45 p.m. CST, RCMP officers were asked to conduct a wellness check on an adult woman at a home in Wilkie, Sask., a town located 165 kilometres west of Saskatoon, according to a news release by RCMP.

Officers immediately responded to the residence, but did not locate the woman.

Officers then received a report at 9:30 p.m. CST of a 911 hang-up at a different residence in Wilkie.

When officers arrived they found the woman, who needed medical attention, the release said. She was taken into custody under the province's Mental Health Act.

The woman went into medical distress after she was transferred to an ambulance, RCMP say. She would later be pronounced dead at the hospital.

RCMP say they have notified the woman's family, but have not released her identity to the public.

SIRT has been called in to investigate the RCMP's interactions with the woman and well as the circumstances of her death.

A review of news releases indicates this is the 11th time SIRT has launched an investigation since it began operations at the start of this year.