The chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations has questioned whether police needed to shoot a man on a northern reserve Tuesday night.
"Mentally, police are in a tough situation, especially in light of Mayerthorpe and Spiritwood," Lawrence Joseph said Thursday, referring during a news conference to the shooting deaths of RCMP officers in Alberta and Saskatchewan. "But I still question the use of lethal force."
Joseph also called for peace following the RCMP shooting of a band member from the Clearwater River Dené Nation. Police said they shot Harry Haineault, 38, after a foot chase that led to a struggle. Officers were trying to arrest Haineault.
The shooting was the eighth time police in Saskatchewan have shot someone in the last 12 months.
Joseph said he wants a public inquiry "to provide answers and find solutions as to how to prevent, first, criminal activity; second, to provide for safe communities not only on reserve but off reserve also."
Joseph repeated his call for aboriginal peacekeepers on reserves. He said they can help defuse dangerous encounters between police and aboriginal people.