Confusion over RCMP leadership roles marked early investigation of N.S. mass shooting
When a man disguised as a Mountie started killing people in northern Nova Scotia two years ago, there was considerable confusion over who was in charge of the RCMP operation, newly released documents show.
As the gunman broke into her home, Blair reported just before she was shot dead that the attacker had a “decked and labelled” police car but was not a police officer. But Halliday, the district’s operations officer, told an inquiry investigator that he decided to leave Rehill in control of resources as “ad hoc incident commander.”Meanwhile, Al Carroll — district commander for Colchester County — was telling officers that Rehill “has command” as late as 11:45 p.m.
In a March 29 report, investigator Lorna MacMillan said general duty officers were operating in an “environment of confusion as to who had command and control of the situation.” As for the more senior Mounties involved, the latest document mentions Supt. Darren Campbell and Chief Supt. Chris Leather. But few details are provided, aside from confirmation that Campbell had approved deploying a critical incident commander at 10:46 p.m. and followed up with an email indicating there had been a “multiple shooting.” The document says it remains unclear who received the email.
At 1:19 a.m. on April 19, 2020, Staff Sgt. Jeff West took over as the critical incident commander at a command post in Great Village, N.S., about 10 kilometres east of Portapique. But due to heavy traffic on the RCMP’s radios, he was unable to announce the change until five minutes later.The inquiry has heard that police communication via two-way radio was a mess during most of the initial investigation, mainly because the system couldn’t handle the number of calls coming in. RCMP Cpl.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Document details initial response to N.S. mass shooting by RCMP tactical team | Globalnews.caA new document released Monday by the inquiry investigating the tragedy that claimed 22 lives details the initial response of the heavily armed RCMP Emergency Response Team.
Read more »
Confusion over RCMP leadership roles marked early investigation of N.S. mass shootingThe public inquiry investigating the Nova Scotia mass shooting hears about confusion over who was in charge of the RCMP operation, along with ‘chaos in communications’ that ensued
Read more »
Confusion over RCMP leadership roles marked early investigation of N.S. mass shootingWhen a man disguised as a Mountie started killing people in northern Nova Scotia two years ago, there was considerable confusion over who was in charge of the RCMP operation, newly released documents show.
Read more »
Despite witnesses and photos, still no RCMP arrests in Coastal GasLink axe attackThe B.C. RCMP has assigned 40 investigators to the attack three months ago
Read more »
Document details RCMP tactical team's initial response to Nova Scotia mass shootingAn RCMP tactical team tasked with tracking down a mass shooter in April 2020 was dealing with the aftermath of his deadly toll in Portapique, N.S., when it was alerted hours later that he had continued his rampage in a community more than 40 kilometres away.
Read more »