Lori Coolican, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Saskatoon StarPhoenix) – A northern Saskatchewan man who was shot by a rookie RCMP constable almost two years ago is suing the federal government and the officer involved.
Christopher Okemau, 34, still has a bullet fragment in his chest from the incident on July 5, 2008, and has been unable to work since, according to a statement of claim filed at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench last week.
Okemau was holding a baseball bat and walking toward a group of men on the street outside his home, which is next door to the RCMP detachment in the northern town of Southend — approximately 700 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon — when Const. Jasmyn Sawatzky, 24, fired at him.
Okemau had grabbed the bat to defend his wife and family from a group of angry men who had assaulted his wife that day and refused to leave his property.
The couple’s son, 13, had called 911 for help and was on the phone with a Regina-based RCMP dispatcher when Sawatzky came out of the detachment and opened fire, less than a minute after Okemau picked up the bat, according to evidence heard in court last year. The shots hit him in the abdomen and right forearm.
He was subsequently rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, and was later charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident.
A La Ronge, Sask., judge acquitted Okemau of the charge last November, ruling he had used the bat in a lawful manner to repel an attack and had let the assailants know he was serious and did not want them to return to his property. The Crown has appealed the acquittal, but no date has been set for the appeal to be heard.
An internal RCMP review found no need for a misconduct investigation against Sawatzky, who later accepted a transfer to another detachment at an undisclosed location.
Allegations in statements of claim have not been proven in court.
Saskatoon city police also conducted an independent investigation, which is mandatory whenever an RCMP officer shoots someone or a person dies in RCMP custody. It resulted in no criminal charges against Sawatzky.
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