Onslow firefighters say RCMP memo shows probe into gun shots at fire hall should be reopened

Nova Scotia firefighters still dealing with the trauma of havingRCMPofficers fire shots at their halltwo years agosay they are "shocked" to see new internal documents from the Mounties echoing their own concerns about the incident.

During the April 2020 mass shooting across the province, two RCMP officers fired five rounds that hit the OnslowBelmont Fire Brigade hall inColchester Countywhile searching for the gunman. They mistooka municipal official in a safety vest standing beside anRCMP cruiser for their suspect, who they knew was driving a mock police car.

The Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry into agunman'srampagethatkilled 22 people has continued releasing documents in recent weeks, even after public hearings ended.

Included isan internal January 2021 memo from the Nova Scotia RCMP's Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Team (HOIT) which says a report onthe Onslow shooting, commissioned by the province's police watchdog, had multiple "inaccuracies and omissions."

Onslow firefighters Darrell Currie and Greg Muise, who were inside the hall during the shooting, have long criticized thatreport from Nova Scotia'sSerious Incident Response Team (SIRT) and the decision not to lay charges against the two Mounties involved.

"It was just another piece of evidence to say that the SIRT report was flawed," Currie said in an interview alongside Muise. "It just reaffirmed what I had thought from the beginning."

The RCMPmemo critiques an expert report written by Vancouver-based consultant Joel Johnstonwho had been asked to look at all the evidence gathered by SIRT and determine whether the officers' use of force was appropriate.

Johnston's report said on April 19, 2020,RCMPConst.Terry Brown and Const. Dave Melansonwere just minutes away from where two people had been recently killed in Debert. Theybelieved they were close to catching the gunman and thereforeacted on reasonable grounds when they "visibly and audibly confronted" the municipal worker in the vest

It was only when the worker,David Westlake, ducked behind the marked cruiser and ran to the hall an action the officersreasonably viewedas "an evasive, aggressive, life-threatening response" that they fired, Johnston wrote.

But the RCMP memo echoes points the Onslow firefighters have made including thatshell casings show the officers were a considerable distance 88 metres from Westlake when they shot at him.

It also notes thatsurveillance video and witness accounts confirm it took mere seconds for Brown and Melanson to start firing once they arrived. The video also shows Westlake never ducked down.

The memostatesthere's no evidence the officers tried to senda message over their police radios just before they opened fire, as they'vesaid they did.

Currie saidRCMP investigators who interviewed him about a year after the shooting as part of their own internal investigation seemed sincere about their desire to be thorough and "do the right thing."

"Seeing the memo is the first time I can believe that the RCMP actually did what they said," Currie said.

"I'm shocked that they were sort of turning on one of their own, that's not in their culture."

The SIRT director at the time, Felix Cacchione, told the inquiry hehad "real concerns" about Johnston's report and decided to never hire him again because his work was "one-sided."

However, Cacchione told the inquiry he stands by his final decision to not lay charges after looking at all the evidence.

Currie said that's not enough for him, and suggested that if Cacchione had such issues with Johnston's report he should have commissioned another one. Muise agreed, adding "it just seems like nobody wants to take the blame and SIRT didn't want to dig into it further."

• CBC's full coverage of the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass casualty

Both firefighters are calling for SIRT to reopen the investigation in light of the RCMP's internal memo.

Bruce Pitt-Payne, a retired Mountie inBritish Columbia, agrees. He said there seems to be no downsides to opening the case again.

"They should definitely probe as far as they can it's a very serious incident. I think we would all be speaking about this a little differently had one of the police officers or Mr. Westlake or somebody in that building actually died," Pitt-Payne said.

The current SIRT director, John Scott, declined to comment when asked Tuesday about the released memo and calls to reopen the Onslowinvestigation.

RCMP will decide if they share report

Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall said via email "at no time did the RCMP attempt to influence SIRT's investigation. The purpose of the memo was to make SIRT aware of inconsistencies in the use of force report, concerns SIRT had with the report as well."

Marshall said the force's hazardous occurrence investigation into Onslow is "nearing completion" and the final report is being drafted. Once completed, the RCMP will review its findings and work onany recommendations that have not yetbeen addressed, he said.

When asked whether thatreport will be shared with outside agencies, Marshall said "a determination will be made" on who willbe given a copy once it's finished.