RCMP officer wounded in shooting near Turtleford

An RCMP officer is out of hospital after being shot Tuesday morning near Turtleford.

According to the RCMP, officers from the Turtleford detachment received numerous reports of a dangerous driver near that town.

As two officers got close to the vehicle, one of them was shot. Then, the RCMP says, the officers discharged their guns.

The officer was taken to hospital in Turtleford with what was described as a serious but non-life-threatening injury. The suspect was arrested and taken to hospital, as police say he also had non-life-threatening injuries.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Fisher, the RCMP’s commanding officer in Saskatchewan, held a media conference Tuesday afternoon in Regina to discuss the incident.

When asked things like how the suspect was hurt or whether he could confirm it was in fact the suspect who shot the officer, Fisher said he didn’t have those details as the Regina Police Service was handling the investigation.

Fisher said the first thing he feels when he hears one of his officers has been shot is a sinking heart.

“You’re worried for them (and) you’re worried for their families,” Fisher said.

He said incidents like these stick in a police officer’s mind no matter where they happen in the country.

“The reality is is that each of us, when we strap on the uniform and go to work in the morning, face these types of risks,” Fisher said.

“Now, not all of us encounter them in the course of a career but the reality is that things can change in a matter of seconds in any call that we’re responding to. This was reported to us at least as an erratic driver.”

Police had an increased presence on Highway 794 west of Mervin for much of the day after the incident.

Turtleford is approximately 90 kilometres northwest of North Battleford.