The director of the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office found it strange that the RCMP waited too long before agreeing to issue a provincewide alert about a gunman, in April 2020, that ultimately killed 22 people in 13 running time.
The Nova Scotia shooting inquiry released new documents on Tuesday, including a recent interview with the director of the county’s emergency management office.
In this interview with commission investigators on Feb. 15, Paul Mason confirmed for the first time that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) does not consider using the “On Alert” system until his office suggests it. According to Mr. Mason, this idea did not even cross their minds.
I was wondering that an event could take place from 10:30 pm on Saturday night to 11:30 am on Sunday morning and no one thought of the alert, until we called themhe said.
The RCMP confirmed that the text of an alert, which would have been sent to most radios, televisions and cell phones once approved by the emergency management office, was outlined when the shooter was shot by police at a gas station north of Halifax at 11:26 am Sunday, April 19, 2020.
The RCMP underwent intense investigation following their decision to only use the ‘On Alert’ system long after the beating of the killer began. The commission of inquiry heard that the RCMP relied heavily on Twitter to issue warnings to the public of what was happening. But some of the relatives of the victims complained that social media warnings were less useful to people living in rural areas, where Twitter is less popular.
Additionally, evidence released earlier confirmed that senior RCMP officials were concerned that a broader public alert could put officers at risk by causing a Furious. The RCMP also suggested that the 911 dispatcher may be filled with calls from citizens seeking information.
Mr Mason told commission investigators that his office did not realize the seriousness of the situation until 10.17am on Sunday morning when the RCMP posted a photo of the killer vehicle on Twitter-a replica RCMP patrol car.
It was the first time the RCMP had publicly confirmed what several witnesses had told them the previous day when the shooter, disguised as a federal police officer, killed 13 people in Portapique, before leaving the region aboard his replica patrol car. , about 10:45 p.m.
Mr. Mason said his staff tried to call the RCMP on Sunday morning, without success. Basically, we can’t reach anyone.he told investigators, adding that he was surprised that the RCMP did not contact his emergency management office.
We don’t need to know everything: we just want to know if they plan to launch a population alert. Does that apply to circumstances? And in light of what is happening and the fact that it is not limited to one region … we would have said yes.
The RCMP eventually called again at 11:20 a.m. to confirm they wanted to use the alert system, Mason said. And then we received the notification shortly after that (the killer) was arrested.
According to Mr. Mason, the RCMP is well aware of the capabilities of this public alert system. Three years earlier, he had turned down an offer from the bureau to assume responsibility for issuing alerts.
Source: Radio-Canada
