RCMP HQ refused top officer's request for independent review of Nova Scotia shooting: inquiry
2022. 7. 27. 01:22ㆍ■ 국제/CANADA
RCMP HQ refused top officer's request for independent review of Nova Scotia shooting: inquiry (msn.com)
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RCMP HQ refused top officer's request for independent review of Nova Scotia shooting: inquiry
Tom Blackwell - Yesterday 1:15 p.m.
© Provided by National PostRCMP Supt. Derek Campbell testifies Monday, July 25 , at the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission. His handwritten notes made in the days after the shooting are key to allegations of political interference in the investigation by the federal government.
One of the top RCMP officers involved in responding to Nova Scotia’s mass-shooting rampage in 2020 says he pushed repeatedly to have an independent police review of the incident’s handling — only for national headquarters to reject his request.
Chief Supt. Darren Campbell told the federal-provincial inquiry examining the killings Monday he sent emails and a formal letter to highers-up in Ottawa asking for an analysis by police critical-incident experts not connected to the officers involved.
Past experience told him that such an outside review — including officers from other police forces — is more valuable than an internal one, he said.
Campbell said he eventually got the sense that officials at RCMP headquarters did not want a separate police review that would overlap with the Mass Casualty Commission as it got underway.
But he said such an investigation might have offered recommendations that could be implemented long before the still-ongoing inquiry — headed by a retired judge, a former police chief and a lawyer — is completed.
“I was disappointed because for me as a program manager, I saw utility and value in having other Canadian critical-incident commanders to look at what we did … identify gaps that could be identified immediately,” he told the commission.
As head of support services in the RCMP’s H division, Campbell oversaw the force’s critical-incident program in Nova Scotia during the April 2020 spree, which saw two officers and 20 civilians killed by a man driving a replica police cruiser. The culprit was eventually shot dead by police.
He said he did have a meeting with several of the senior officers involved in responding to the two-day attack to get a better understanding of what transpired. But no report or summary came out of the session, which highlighted the group’s “disillusionment,” said Campbell.
“I looked every one of them in the eye,” he testified. “I do believe every one did everything they could, they did their best and they felt awful about what happened.”
Campbell also revealed he thought it was important for the RCMP to continue releasing what information it could on the incident as time wore on, but headquarters told H division in late 2020 to no longer do so.
Related video: RCMP commissioner cited “pressure” from public safety minister amid Nova Scotia shooting probe: officer
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