Senior Mountie says early descriptions of mass shooting not ‘consistent’ with reality

Chief Supt. Chris Leather is the second senior officer to provide evidence at the public inquiry into the April 18-19, 2020 murders of 22 people in Nova Scotia

CITYnews halifax  \ Canadian Press

HALIFAX — The Mountie who was among the first to tell the public about the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia testified today that some of the early descriptions police provided were not “consistent” with the reality of what had happened. 

Chief Supt. Chris Leather is the second senior officer to provide evidence before the public inquiry into the April 18-19, 2020 murders of 22 people by a gunman who drove a replica RCMP patrol car.

Commission lawyer Rachel Young asked Leather about language he used at news conferences and in press releases, including his comment during the first news conference on April 19, 2020, that the RCMP had responded to a “firearms call” the night before.

“Firearms call” was also the innocuous term used by an RCMP communications officer in the first tweet about the rampage at 11:32 p.m. the night before, even though by then the Mounties were aware an active shooter had murdered multiple people in Portapique, N.S.

Three days later, Leather said at another news conference that he was “very satisfied” with the early messages sent by the RCMP.

Leather today agreed with Young that in fact this term mischaracterized the reality and didn’t conform with RCMP policies requiring police to provide the public with accurate information.

“I think the way it was described … is not consistent with what we were dealing with,” he said.

Leather’s job as criminal operations officer, which he has held since November 2019, includes the overall supervision of RCMP policing operations in Nova Scotia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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