The Saskatchewan RCMP issued a statement correcting some inaccurate information contained in recent news articles about the day Cst. Patton was killed. In the statement, RCMP stated that they recognize the public’s interest in police work and from the beginning of this tragic incident, they included a significant amount of detail, to keep the public informed of what took place on June 12. News partners play a major role in this information sharing and while both reporters and the general public want to know more, often the RCMP cannot provide details for a number of reasons, such as it impacting court proceedings or the safety and privacy of individuals involved.
RCMP has since clarified that:
– Investigators have interviewed the alleged witnesses quoted in this story and confirmed they were NOT in the community of Wolseley at the time of the incident on Saturday June 12; however, they did return to the community AFTER all of the events related to the incident concluded. Therefore, they could not have witnessed the incidents as indicated in the media story.
– Investigators have collected evidence that shows there is no view of the incident scene from the alleged witness’ nearby apartment.
– We can confirm that at no time during the interaction with the white truck and suspects, did Cst. Patton’s firearm leave its holster.
“Adding to the compounding effects of distributing inaccurate information, there are other far-reaching impacts to those directly involved. This includes diverting investigative resources from critical aspects of the ongoing investigation to interview the alleged witness and having to expose another RCMP officer to the specific details of the tragic death of Cst. Patton,” said the RCMP statement. “This is a reminder that RCMP employees are people too. We continue to grieve the loss of our colleague. The public cannot ‘un-read’ or ‘un-share’ the inaccurate information contained in the original article(s).”
CBC News issued a statement that they had interviewed two people at the site of the collision in Wolseley who claimed they were eyewitnesses to the incident that led to the death of RCMP Const. Shelby Patton. They told CBC News details of the events they claimed to witness from their apartment overlooking the scene. The couple expressed shock and emotion at what they say they had witnessed. At that time, CBC said they had no reason to doubt their story. That account was however picked up by various other news media and also reported. The RCMP contacted CBC after investigators interviewed the couple, indicating their information showed that the couple’s story was false. CBC News contacted the two people, who then admitted they had fabricated the story they told to our reporter.
