(Canadian Press photo)

By Susan McNeil

Appeal denied

‘Hot pursuit’ enough to justify arrest without a warrant in North Battleford

Aug 18, 2025 | 3:26 PM

The arrest of an Alberta man who was arrested by North Battleford RCMP without a warrant is legal because of the concept of ‘hot pursuit’, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has ruled.

Kyle Hoffman, age 28 at the time, was standing in the yard of a home in North Battleford in May 2022, when Const. Sowers told him he was under arrest.

Instead of complying, Hoffman ran into the home, Sowers followed and still took Hoffman into custody without a warrant.

Hoffman was convicted in provincial court of assaulting a peace officer, two counts of resisting arrest and mischief but then appealed, alleging his arrest was unlawful because there was no warrant for his arrest in Saskatchewan. The trial judge had ruled the arrest was lawful and the Court of Appeal has now agreed unanimously.

“The officer was lawfully on the property and was justified in following Mr. Hoffman into the residence to arrest him under the common law doctrine of hot pursuit,” wrote the Appeals Court in a decision released several days ago.

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Sowers was on duty and wearing his uniform when he noticed a car with Alberta plates parked in an odd manner near the home on Trudeau Street.

He ran the license plates and learned the car had been reported stolen. Despite the vehicle’s status as stolen, the registered owner was Kyle Hoffman. The driver had an Alberta arrest warrant out of Wetaskiwin that was not effective in Saskatchewan, but when a photo of Hoffman appeared in the file, Sowers recognized him as the man standing in the yard.

The Alberta warrant was for robbery in connection with the same vehicle.

Sowers asked Hoffman to confirm his identity while he was still standing in the yard and, receiving no answer, he opened the gate and went in, telling Hoffman he was under arrest.

As Sowers approached, Hoffman turned and went inside the house with Sowers in pursuit. Another officer who had been called to help, also became involved in the pursuit and went inside the house.

Hoffman was running up some stairs when he was caught, with him and the second officer falling back down the short flight. That officer, Cpl. Dowling, then dragged Hoffman outside where he was handcuffed by Sowers.

“Mr. Hoffman resisted being placed into the vehicle. He remained agitated and continued to fight with the officers, attempting to headbutt Cpl. Dowling at one point. The officers were eventually able to place Mr. Hoffman in the back seat, where he began kicking the frame of the police cruiser, ultimately damaging the vehicle,” reads the decision.

During his trial, Hoffman alleged that the arrest was illegal because of the warrant situation.

The trial judge disagreed. The Supreme Court of Canada has defined hot pursuit as a “continuous pursuit conducted with reasonable diligence so that pursuit and capture, along with the commission of the offence, may be considered as forming a single transaction.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social