Uncle identifies Drake Dillon, 27 as man fatally shot by Saskatoon police
Drake Dillon, 27, from the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation northeast of Lloydminster, was the man fatally shot by Saskatoon police last week, his uncle has told CBC News.
In an interview, Chris Ben said the family is still waiting to learn what happened, and to get Dillon's body released for burial.
Ben says that the family learned of the fatal confrontation while they were burying Dillon's cousin. It's too much tragedy, he says, in too short a time.
"I kind of sensed there was something bound to happen to him, but we were dealing with the funeral at the time," he said. "I believe that he wandered off, to put it that way."
Ben says his nephew changed when he moved to Saskatoon from Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, about 565 kilometres northwest of Regina.
"He was raised by his grandma," Ben said. "His grandma passed away here a few years ago, and ever since that he kind of drifted away and he wasn't the same — like, he was lost.
"Like, when he was here, he was just your typical sort of nephew," Ben continued. "He was my nephew and used to do things with my kids, he used to visit. But ever since he left and came back he was distant."
SIRT takes over investigation
Police have handed off the investigation to the province's serious incident response team (SIRT), an independent, civilian-led unit responsible for investigating serious incidents involving on and off-duty police in Saskatchewan.
In a news release, it said that at approximately 10:35 a.m CST on June 20, police were called and told that a man had produced a shotgun and fired a single round in front of the caller at a location near the intersection of 20th St. West and Avenue U South.
"The caller provided a description of the involved male and the group he was with, and remained on the line with SPS [Saskatoon Police Service] providing updates as to the group's location," the release says.
"At approximately 10:42 a.m., the caller terminated the call, and approximately one minute later, two members of the SPS tactical support unit (TSU) encountered a group resembling the caller's description near the intersection of 20th St. West and Avenue S South. Shortly after the TSU members arrived, a confrontation occurred between the two members of SPS and a 27-year-old male, during which two members of SPS discharged their service pistols, striking the man."
The release did not say whether police identified the other men with Dillon, nor did it say whether police recovered the shotgun.
"During SIRT's investigation, ammunition and items believed to be components of a firearm were recovered from the incident scene and secured as exhibits for further testing," it says.
A final report will be issued to the public within 90 days of the investigation ending.
