Regina music trio helps Saskatoon police save man’s life

It was a typical Saturday night in downtown Saskatoon last weekend — the parks were busy with people strolling, jogging and biking along the trails next to the South Saskatchewan River.

Indigenous singing and drumming trio Grey Buffalo had come from Regina for the weekend to perform live at Kiwanis Park.

Jared Bird, his dad Jeff Longman and his cousin Joseph Twist were performing a new composition. It was a tribute Bird had written to the memory of the 215 children found in unmarked graves near the Kamloops Indian Residential School site.

They were performing at the Vimy Memorial bandstand live and streaming to TikTok when suddenly a Saskatoon police officer rushed towards them, asking for their help to save a distraught man. Her voice was caught on the video as the surprised men looked at her.

“Hey you guys … We have a guy on the bridge … but he likes your drumming. We were wondering if you would walk that way and play a little bit louder for him?” the officer can be heard asking the group, “because that’s the only thing that’s making him happy right now is your music.”

The trio immediately ended the livestream.

Bird and Longman said they were willing to help right away. The man, said Twist, was at a difficult point in his life.

“We sang him a prayer song right there, right away,” Twist added.

Saskatoon Police Service Insp. Tonya Gresty says police had been trying to help the man for some time, and they could hear the trio’s drums a short distance away.

“They could tell it was starting to have a positive impact in the community member they were trying to assist,” Gresty said. “And so one of the officers thought to run over to the drummers to see if they’d be willing to participate and help police de-escalate the situation.”

It was a great way of demonstrating quick thinking and resourcefulness in a time of crisis, she added. Police are thankful the Grey Buffalo trio sprang into action without hesitation.

“The work done in partnership with our community members had a lifesaving impact and we’re really grateful for the Grey Buffalo drummers; that they would assist … police in de-escalating this serious situation, it’s really remarkable,” Gresty said.

Bird, Twist and Longman are likely to receive recognition from Saskatoon police for their efforts in saving the man’s life.

“It just demonstrates the power of working together as a community for the safety of all,” Gresty said.

When asked if they considered themselves heroes, Bird and his dad were surprised and humble.

“The lady that approached us approached us again afterwards and took down our names and numbers and said something about nominating us for an award or something like that,” Bird explained.

“It feels really good to save a life,” Longman added.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an amended version of this story, with the name of the band corrected.