Curtis Dagenais, the convicted murderer of two Saskatchewan RCMP officers and the perpetrator of an attack on a third officer, is facing a court battle in Saskatoon related to his truck, two decades after the tragic incident. The 1986 blue GMC 1500 involved in the crime is currently held in cold storage at the RCMP headquarters in Regina. The Crown is seeking its forfeiture and destruction, but Dagenais is resisting.
The incident dates back to July 6, 2006, when Dagenais was in the truck during a confrontation with three RCMP constables in Spiritwood, located approximately 147 kilometers north of Saskatoon. Following a chase, Dagenais’s truck was cornered and collided with a tree after being rammed by a police vehicle. Dagenais fatally shot two constables, Marc Bourdages and Robin Cameron, and injured Constable Michelle Knopp.
In 2009, Dagenais was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, receiving a life sentence without parole for 25 years. Despite his appeals being dismissed by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in 2012, the issue of his truck’s fate has resurfaced in court.
The Crown prosecutor, Scott Bartlett, who handled the original trial, has now initiated the forfeiture application for the truck’s destruction. Dagenais, maintaining his innocence, desires to preserve the vehicle, citing potential evidence in the form of bullet holes. However, Innocence Canada, an organization he hoped would assist him, has not taken on his case.
During a recent hearing in June 2022, Dagenais, 61, represented himself and opposed the forfeiture of his truck, expressing the need to retain it for further examination. Justice Daryl Labach granted a further adjournment to allow Dagenais time to secure legal representation. The forfeiture hearing is set for August 31.