Rumours he had ordered 'an assassination' followed Dunphy shooting, says former premier

Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Paul Davis saysit was a mistake to call the police officer who fatally shot Don Dunphy to offer comfort hours after the incident happened.

Testifying at the judicial inquiry into the fatal shooting of injured worker Don Dunphy, Davis himself a former cop addressed swirling and sometimes bizarre conspiracy theories that quickly developed online, alleging that Davis had effectively dispatched someoneto take care of a supposed opponent.

"Very quickly there were rumours that I had ordered an assassination and that was a concern," Davis told Justice Leo Barry Friday at an inquiry into how Joe Smyth, a police constable who was assigned to Davis's security detail, shot Dunphy in his Mitchells Brook home in April 2015.

Smyth earlier testified that he resented seeing himself depicted as a "hitman" in social media posts that doubted his explanation that he fired his weapon in self-defence.

Meanwhile, Davis acknowledged he erred by getting in touch with Smyth in the aftermath of the fatal shooting.

Very quickly there were rumours that I had ordered an assassination and that was a concern.- Paul Davis

"I tend to agree withSmyth that I probably should not have called him. It was still under investigation."

Davis said that he and Smythdidn't talk about the details of the shooting.

He testified on Friday that he knew at the time thatDunphy, 59,was alleged to have pulled a gun onSmyth, but he doesn't recall how he knew that.

Smyth, a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer, had gone to Dunphy'shome in St. Mary's Bay to investigate tweetsDunphyhad made about politicians.

Smythhas said that he shot Dunphyfour times after Dunphy pointed a22-calibrerifle at him. TheRCMPinvestigated the shooting and concluded thatSmythused appropriate force and no charges were laid.

Rumours of assassination order

Davis, who served on the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary before entering politics,testified that when he calledSmythhe didn't know thatSmythhadn't given police a statement about the shooting.

"I thought he was probably having the worst day of his life. I called to ask how he was doing," he said Friday.

Paul Davis regrets calling Const. Joe Smyth in wake of deadly shooting

8 years ago

Duration 1:17

Former premier Paul Davis took the stand at the Don Dunphy inquiry Friday, saying he shouldn't have called RNC Const. Joe Smyth following the Mitchells Brook shooting.

Inquiry co-counsel SandraChaytorasked Davis why he hadn't called Dunphy'sdaughter,Meghan.

"I knew we had a plan to offer condolences the next day," said Davis,who is now an MHA and leader of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party,

• RCMP investigator compares Don Dunphy case to 'battered wife who shot husband'

Davis reiterated that he knew nothing ofDunphy or his controversial tweets before the shooting.

Ithought he was probably having the worst day of his life. I called to ask how he was doing.- Paul Davis

He said he learned about the shooting around 3:30 p.m when he received a phone call from his chief of staff Joe Browne. Browne had retired as chief of the RNC before being hired to run the premier's office during Davis's tenure.

"He told me there had been a fatality andthatSmythhad been involvedrelated to his duties," Davis said.

Davis saidbefore 6 p.m. he called police with concerns about his security, and an extra person was put on the protective services unit.

Difficult day

During a scrum with reporters on April 6, 2015Davis said 'the tweetappeared to be directed to me ... and the people that are most important to us, our families.'

• Paul Davis says staff alerted police to perceived threat prior to shooting

At the inquiry he said: "I don't think I can adequately describe how difficult a day this was for me and my family."

Davis was driving with then-MHASandy Collins on April 2, 2015 when Collins posted a tweet that Dunphy responded to but Davis said Friday that they didn't talk about it.

Dunphy'sdaughter has said she does not believe Smyth's account of her father's death and has told the inquiry that shelost confidence in the RCMPinvestigation.