Country musician Jarrid Poitras says an RCMP officer dislocated his shoulder during a late-night traffic stop near Prince Albert, Sask., two weeks ago, leaving him unable to play guitar.
Poitras, a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, told CBC he has not picked up a guitar since the Oct. 10 incident on Highway 55 between Prince Albert and Shellbrook.
His wife Marcella recorded a 28-second video of part of the arrest. It shows an officer handcuffing Poitras behind his back, pushing him against a vehicle and forcing his left arm upward as Poitras screams in pain. Poitras says the officer also choked him and kicked his legs earlier, before the recording began.
He was taken to hospital, had his shoulder reset, and later learned his elbow was not fractured but remains painful; the shoulder needs rehabilitation.
According to Poitras, the couple was driving home after watching a nephew’s hockey game.
An unmarked black SUV made a U-turn, followed them and activated lights. Uneasy about stopping on a quiet highway at night without cell service, they continued briefly until service returned so they could verify the vehicle was police.
The officer then pulled them over, opened the driver’s door, told Poitras to shut off the engine and began pulling him out while he was still seat-belted. Poitras said his elbow popped; once he unbuckled and exited, the officer ordered him to “stop resisting.”
Marcella said the officer did not identify himself, did not immediately explain the stop, and used profanity and aggressive commands instead of de-escalation.
RCMP confirmed the stop began when an officer tried to pull over the couple’s SUV, which drove away each time the officer approached until it finally stopped.
The officer instructed the driver he was under arrest and to exit; when he did not comply, he was removed and arrested.
Poitras received a ticket for a suspended licence and faces charges of obstruction, fleeing police and resisting arrest. He plans to plead not guilty at December court dates.
RCMP referred the matter to the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), which declined to investigate, saying the injuries did not meet the legislative threshold for “serious injury.”
RCMP says senior management is reviewing the incident, including any available RCMP footage. Poitras has filed a complaint with the Public Complaints Commission and wants a full SIRT probe.
University of Saskatchewan law professor Colten Fehr said the force shown in the video—raising a seemingly compliant person’s arm nearly parallel to the shoulders—appears gratuitous and could meet the threshold for a SIRT investigation.
He noted both parties may have felt fear on a remote night-time highway, but reasonable force still requires a perceived threat. Fehr also suggested the charges could ultimately be stayed if the force is found to constitute an abuse of process.
Poitras linked the incident to broader concerns about police treatment of Indigenous people.
“It happens to a lot of my people… Why does it need to happen?”
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