A picture taken after the incident. (paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Claim denied

Court of Appeal denies SGI death benefit appeal of Boden Umpherville’s mother

Jul 4, 2025 | 4:00 PM

An appeal of an SGI decision to refuse death benefits for Boden Umpherville (Sasakamoose) was denied by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

Verna Umperville, Boden’s mother and the executor of his estate, applied to SGI for death benefits in 2023, alleging that his death was caused by the collision of his vehicle with a Prince Albert Police Service vehicle.

SGI disagreed and so too now has the Court of Appeal, pointing to the circumstances surrounding his death and a finding that he died of an anoxic injury and global cerebral ischemia due to cardiac arrest.

Umpherville was a passenger in a 2010 Avenger on April 1, 2023 that was being driven by a woman when PA Police officers pulled it over at 2:30 am.

Umpherville was on release conditions that included a curfew and the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that evening.

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Video taken by witnesses shows five officers attempting to pull Umpherville out of the vehicle, tasering him several times and a baton striking his head several times.

He also managed to get in the driver’s seat at one point after which the car lurched forward and collided with the police vehicle parked in front of it.

Verna argued that it was this collision that resulted in her son’s death and that because SGI has no fault death benefits, they should be paid to his estate.

She also asserted that her son was arrested because of his use of a motor vehicle and the arrest led to his death.

According to the investigation done by the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), which cited the autopsy done by the Saskatchewan Coroner’s Office, Umpherville died of cardiac arrest, caused by positional asphyxia and cocaine intoxication.

The appeal court applied a modified test of a previous, similar case and found that while Umpherville was in the vehicle as a passenger, which is a normal and well-known use of a vehicle, he did not die of the collision with the police car.

“The use of the car did not cause his injuries; it was the force used by the police in effecting the arrest, along with Mr. Sasakamoose’s (Umpherville) role in the melee, that did so,” wrote the court.

The SGI commission did not err in dismissing the Umpherville claim, it concluded.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social