Northwest Territories RCMP respond to concerns of Dene National Chief

December 23, 2025 - Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories
From: Northwest Territories RCMP

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The Northwest Territories RCMP are addressing statements in a press release issued by Dene National Chief George Mackenzie regarding the recent arrest of wanted suspect, 25-year-old Elias Schiller.

On December 14th, 2025, in the early hours of the morning, Elias Schiller, who had been subject to unendorsed warrants of arrest for assault and failure to comply with release order charges, was located by Behchokǫ̀ RCMP travelling in a vehicle on Highway 3.

After he provided a false name to police, he was arrested for obstruction, in addition to the outstanding warrants. Mr. Schiller was confrontational with officers and refused to cooperate with lawful direction to exit the vehicle. Officers used de-escalation techniques and attempted to obtain verbal compliance for almost 20 minutes but Mr. Schiller refused to cooperate. A struggled ensued as officers attempted to handcuff Schiller, resulting in the deployment of a conducted energy weapon and pepper spray before he was safely handcuffed.

After handcuffing, Mr. Schiller continued to resist officers. Despite the temperature being below -30 C, Mr. Schiller refused to get up from the ground and enter a police vehicle. Mr. Schiller was capable of walking from the vehicle he was arrested into the police vehicle but refused to do so and elected to lay on the cold ground. Given Schiller’s substantial size, the two arresting officers were not able to lift him. Although officers vocalized their concern for his wellbeing and repeatedly explained to him the need to get out of the cold for his own safety, he continued to be uncooperative and belligerent, stating that he would remain on the ground and physically resisted attempts to lift him.

Additional resources were called to the scene, including emergency medical responders. Only with the combined efforts of five officers and paramedics was Mr. Schiller finally lifted onto a stretcher and placed into a vehicle. Mr. Schiller was reported to have sustained serious frostbite injuries as a result of his self-inflicted exposure to the cold and was flown out of Territory for treatment.

As a result of this interaction, he was further charged with:

• Resisting/obstructing a peace officer, contrary to section 129(a) of the Criminal Code
• Identity fraud, contrary to section 403 of the Criminal Code

Elias Schiller has been remanded into custody and is currently recovering from his injuries.

As is common in case of police interactions that result in serious injuries to a suspect, a review of this incident was initiated on December 15th and remains ongoing. This incident was captured on the attending officer’s body-worn cameras.

Initial findings from the review indicate that the suspect resisted arrest, contrary to the Dene Nation press release, which stated that “the arrestee did not attempt to flee or resist arrest.” Other preliminary findings from the review also indicate that the use of force was not excessive and consistent with the principals of the RCMP’s Incident Management Intervention Model. The responding officers displayed a high degree of patience and professionalism, recognizing the poor environmental conditions that were present during the interaction with Mr. Schiller.

We are disappointed that Dene Nation would publicly make such claims and refute the allegations that systemic racism played a part in this interaction.
Our success as an organization is tied to the strength of our partnerships and we have invited the Dene National Chief to meet with us to discuss and gain clarity on this matter, as well as establish a better framework to avoid similar misunderstandings moving forward.

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