Thread by @Tim_Bousquet

I'm at the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings in Truro. You can avoid this thread by muting the hashtag #MCC

#MCC lawyer Emily Hill is relating next-of-kin death notifications, starting with those killed on Cobequid Court

Cst. Nick Dorrington patrolled Portapique, and even stopped outside the Bond home for about 30 seconds, but did not see any deceased #MCC

Dorrington will be testifying later this morning #MCC

Hill explains that lots and lots of people in Nova Scotia and across Canada contacted RCMP because they were concerned about family members. #MCC

the McCully children were taken to hospital, and an aunt worked there, so she was told about Lisa McCully, but other family members learned of Lisa McCully's death through a Facebook post from the principal at the school where McCully worked #MCC

Hill relates that some family members (of Alana Jenkins, for example) were met by RCMP officers with rifles drawn #MCC

Jenkins and McCleod family members learned of Sean McCloud and Allana Jenkins deaths through social media before any official notification from the RCMP #MCC

Hill addresses how each of the victim's families were notified. Many already knew, or suspected about the deaths. #MCC

Hill now discusses those family members who lived outside of Nova Scotia. Many saw that events were unfolding in Portapique, and tried to contact RCMP, requesting wellness checks, mostly to no avail #MCC

I'll have a more detailed report on this later. My apologies, I can't always be immediately up-to-date on all documents released. We're breaking for 10 minutes. #MCC

We're back. #MCC lawyer will question Cst. Nick Dorrington

Here's Dorrington #MCC

Dorrington: IARD training had some "shortcomings" — it was focused on indoor events like school shootings, but no training for outdoor situations #MCC

Dorrington suggests that IARD training be expanded to include outdoor and rural settings, and nighttime as well #MCC

On April 18, 2020, Dorrington was on-call to 5-7am, then on shift from 7am-5pm, but worked until 8pm, due to an unspecified call #MCC

Dorrington went home, had supper with his wife, and around 11:40pm was going to bed when he got a call from Cst. Rodney MacDonald #MCC

MacDonald told Dorrington that there was an "active shooter situation" in Portapique, and Dorrington said he'd be moving in 5 minutes. #MCC

Dorrington: Cst. Vicky Colford was new to the detachment and probably didn't know the area #MCC

Dorrington: "It was not an official call-out." MacDonald was just letting him know, and Dorrington decided to respond on his own. "I'm not much of a waiter, and I know that time is crucial, especially in an active shooter situation" #MCC

#MCC lawyer Roger Burrill: your chief of command was Cpl. Peterson, did you contact him? Dorrington: No. Burrill: what about Andy O'Brien? Dorrington: No.

Dorrington headed to Portapique, logged into his mobile work station. He radioed that he didn't know what was going on. Dorrington was travelling at 270 kph (!) #MCC

(I'm going to double check that speed, maybe I misheard. Seems extremely fast.) #MCC

Dorrington: O'Brien's direction to NOT form a second IARD team was "in contradiction to the IARD document," which he says is to form as many teams as possible to contain the threat. #MCC

Dorrington agrees this info is correct. He stopped "a few dozen vehicles" at the road block #MCC

Dorrington: Cst. Patton said someone had mentioned GW's name, and it came out that Dorrington had issued GW a ticket in February #MCC

Dorrington: "I do a lot of proactive traffic enforcement," and "despite what certain publications say, I do," at 6pm in February. He was was with Colford #MCC

Dorrington says a white Taurus "flew by me." It had the faded striping of an RCMP car. He checked with the OCC to see if it was a police vehicle. "It's a white Ford Taurus... notable metallic pin striping" like a traffic enforcement vehicle #MCC

Dorrington: the speed limit is 70 or 80, and the car went by at 115. Burrill: how do you know that? Dorrington: I always have my radar with me #MCC

Dorrington: I turned around. It was dark, and I couldn't see the vehicle, but it put its brakes on before turning onto Portapique Beach Road. I followed it, initiated a stop. #MCC

This was about 50 feet down PBR. The driver exited his vehicle, "which is not common." Dorrington has stopped "a few thousand" cars, and he can count on his hand how many people have exited the car #MCC

Dorrington: the man "came back towards me." Using his external microphone, he said "get back in your fucking vehicle." #MCC

Dorrington: "he was approximately 2 feet away from my vehicle." He returned to his vehicle. #MCC

Dorrington: he said he was being targeted, that he had just had an interaction with Halifax cops. Dorrington didn't know what he was talking about, it was just a traffic stop. "He seemed to de-escalate" #MCC

Dorrington: after I ticketed him, he asked my about the Taurus, and said he had several used ones. #MCC

Burrill: anything unusual about this conversation? Dorrington: "it struck me as odd... I don't collect 4 of the same kind of vehicle... " #MCC

Burrill: any concerns about improper use of the vehicles? Dorrington: it never crossed my mind. Burrill: anything else? Dorrington: he said he collected police paraphernalia #MCC

This is the photo Dorrington took, showing the radar reading, GW's licence, and the old Taurus #MCC

Burrill: was there any other purpose to stop the man on this day? Dorrington: no. I didn't know who he was, and even after the stop, his name didn't mean anything to him #MCC

Back to April 18/19, O'Brien asked Dorrington if he had a picture of GW, and so he did, sending through secure text the photo above to those responding in Portapique #MCC

Burrill asks Dorrington about this, how is it you thought it was a decommissioned car? Dorrington said he didn't see how it would be possible for him to have a fully marked car #MCC

Just after 5am, Dorrington and Lafferty were moved to Brown Loop. Dorrington says O'Brien directed him to move there because the kids were being evacuated (airc, that happened earlier) #MCC

Dorrington: "I had no knowledge of the blueberry road." Burrill: what about Andrew and Kate MacDonald? Dorrington: I didn't know anything about them. #MCC

After Lisa Banfield came out of the woods, they learned of the fake police car. Dorrington: we were hoping that the killer was still within the containment, but when the Wentworth call came in, we knew he wasn't #MCC

Burrill: are you content with the containment efforts? Dorrington: NO. Multiple IARD teams should have been sent into Portapique #MCC

Burrill: did you respond to Wentworth? Dorrington: "I was not allowed." Because ERT was leaving Portapique, I was sent (with Lafferty) to do scene containment at the McCully and Blair residences #MCC

Dorrington: due to a concern that media could be sending helicopters over Portapique, he was assigned to go around and see if there was "anything that jumped out" #MCC

Dorrington: I was not assigned to do house checks, and doing so "would have been a significant risk" as he was alone #MCC

Dorrington: I called O'Brien and told him there were no more fires, and no fatalities. Burrill: why didn't you take notes? Dorrington: there was nothing to note. #MCC

Burrill: your vehicle was at the end of Cobequid Court for 28 seconds. Dorrington: I don't remember anything about that. Burrill: people have said the Bond door was ajar. Dorrington: I can't speak to that #MCC

Burrill walks Dorrington through his movements in Portapique. Burrill: what were your officer safety concerns? Dorrington: he was obviously very prepared, and he had unlimited financial resources. He could have had IEDs, boobietraps, etc. #MCC

Burrill plays audio of radio transmissions, including Dorrington saying he had information about a police car going through Brookfield #MCC

Dorrington: after Lisa Banfield said GW had a "hit list," my concern was I was the last cop to have an interaction with him, so I might be on that list. So I contacted my wife to tell her to go to the basement #MCC

Dorrington: after the photo of the car was released on social media, my wife called her friend on Highway 2, and while they were on the phone, the car passed. My wife contacted me. I ran checks on my MWS, "so I already knew the answer to the question" #MCC

Dorrington: after I gave the dispatcher the info, there was "a significant delay..." there didn't seem to enough concern to confirm my information #MCC

Dorrington: "I had concerns about how to stop the threat." Our cars are fully marked RCMP vehicles, and so was the killer's. I was NOT driving a fully marked car, so I thought I had the advantage to get closer to the killer... #MCC

Dorrington: I told O'Brien that given my military training and that I had an unmarked car, I should have been able to approach him, but O'Brien said no. #MCC

(Both Dorrington and Cst. Brown told their respective wives about the killer being in a fake police car, and a dispatcher attempted to alert her father. It's true that a tweet went out about that info, but otherwise the RCMP did not broadly alert the public) #MCC

Dorrington went into 4 Faris Lane to clear it, as opposed to Cobequid Court, where he didn't. Dorrington: the Faris Ln residence caught my attention — the door was wide open #MCC

Dorrington then proceeded north on Portapique Road, pulling into several residences' driveways. He says he did not enter any of the houses, was just looking for more bodies in the yards, etch #MCC

Dorrington: I was puzzled why wellness checks were being sent down to general duty members. Burrill: why? Dorrington: we were busy. I remember the call... #MCC

Burrill: did you talk with Justin? Dorrington: Yes. "We were not in a position to respond to wellness checks..." the perp was still on the loose, he had multiple crime scenes, etc. #MCC

Dorrington says he "vaguely" remembers the request for a wellness check to the Tuck home. #MCC

In his interview with #MCC investigators, Dorrington really laid into Sgt. Andy O'Brien

Dorrington: I want to retract the part about O'Brien not being IARD qualified, because I've since learned that he is. But "everything else is accurate." O'Brien being on the radio created confusion, and it confused the chain of command #MCC

Dorrington says this part of his interview "stands for itself." Everybody was well-intentioned, but it should've been done differently — they could've gone to the OCC, instead of confusing things on the ground. #MCC

Burrill: as a general duty member on the ground in Portapique, do you have concerns about the command structure? Dorrington: "absolutely" #MCC

We're on break til 1:15 #MCC

Tying up a loose end I've been chasing, I've gotten confirmation that the killer, GW, graduated from the Funeral Services’ Program at NSCC's Kingstec Campus in Kentville, in 1995. #MCC

Cross examination of Dorrington begins, starting with Josh Bryson #MCC

Bryson represents the families of the Bonds, whose bodies were discovered on Cobequid Court. Earlier in the day, Dorrington had stopped for 28 seconds outside the Bond home, without be aware of their deaths. #MCC

Bryson: when did you learn about Andrew & Kate MacDonald? Dorrington: I can't remember, it might've even been after the murders were done with #MCC

Bryson: so when you set up the containment point east of Portapique, you didn't know about the MacDonalds? Dorrington: I wasn't privy to the information #MCC

Bryson: do you have a memory, today, of sitting in the Bonds' driveway for 30 seconds? Dorrington: Not specifically; I remember checking various properties, but not that one in particular #MCC

Bryson: any guess what you were doing for 30 seconds? Dorrington: I don't know. Maybe I was on the phone or texting #MCC

Dorrington explains that he knew the ERT was doing house-to-house evacuations but abandoned that when the Wentworth call. But he didn't know how far they had gotten along by then #MCC

Bryson asks Dorrington about his push bar comment here. Dorrington doesn't remember if he learned that from the photo or if he were told about it #MCC

Dorrington: "That information [push bar] was sent out to everybody" | So far as I know, that was done only after Peterson passed the car #MCC

Referring to his earlier comment about IARD procedures, Dorrington said his understanding is that there is usually an "insertion team", and then you "keep pushing additional contact teams" until the threat is neutralized #MCC

Dorrington: but in this case, instead of additional contact teams, we were held back (at the containment points) #MCC

Dorrington: there were just 3 people, fires, stuff blowing up, children. They needed more people #MCC

Bryson: O'Brien said that it was an automatic decision, reinforcement of IARD training to NOT send in the second team. Dorrington: "I would respectively disagree with Sgt. O'Brien" #MCC

re commanding roles, Dorrington: the risk manager is supposed to be the default, but that didn't happen during Portapique — "responding members were receiving instructions directly from Sgt. O'Brien... and those duties fall to the risk manager [Rehill]" #MCC

Dorrington: I should be receiving direction from the risk manager, but I'm not — I'm receiving direction from O'Brien, who is off duty and at home. But Rehill is giving direction to the 3 officers responding in Portapique #MCC

Dorrington: due to COVID restrictions, O'Brien and 2 of my team members were at home. As Portapique exploded, O'Brien attended, but he refused to allow 2 members of my team to attend as well. #MCC

That was Cst. McNeil and Cst. Dillon [sp?] #MCC

Re mapping, Dorrington: it's "beyond preposterous" that the ERT team didn't have mapping abilities in their TAV #MCC

Jane Leneham representing the Goulet family, asks about "subdued markings" on the car he stopped for speeding. Dorrington says that the traffic component of the RCMP has "translucent" markings, "almost silver" #MCC

Sandra McCulloch from Patterson Law asks Dorrington about his comments about Vicki Colford not being there for the February traffic stop #MCC

This is contradicted by Colford's statment to the #MCC, in which she said she was present for the stop

This is what Colford said: #MCC

Dorrington says he can't explain that contradiction. #MCC

Dorrington says that while he was at the containment point, it wasn't safe to have long conversations with drivers coming up to him; he simply told them to stay away and watch the news for when it was safe to return #MCC

McCulloch asks Dorrington about "the list" (I've never seen the list specified in the transcripts — just that Lisa Banfield said GW was heading to the city to kill her sister; I *think* "the list" is a sort of mind leap) #MCC

Dorrington: "My understanding is that there was a list." | Again, I'm pretty sure there WASN'T an actual list. #MCC

McCulloch: you told your wife GW was driving a fake police car? Dorrington: "I informed her that there was a list and to shelter in place" (meaning, he didn't say about the fake police car) #MCC

McCulloch: on the night of April 18, why didn't you contact O'Brien? Dorrington: he wasn't on duty. McCulloch: Peterson? Dorrington: he wasn't on duty either. #MCC

McCulloch points to this comment in his statement to the #MCC — that Peterson is not "tactically sound." Dorrington says they're both true — Peterson wasn't on duty AND he's not tactically sound #MCC

McCulloch: why isn't he tactically sound? Dorrington: I don't think it's in the best interests of the mass casualty commission to dive into my personal assessment of Peterson #MCC

In his #MCC interview, Dorrington raised "officer safety" issues. He explains today that he was specifically speaking of restraint equipment, rotating spot lights on vehicles, and push bars. They were all denied #MCC

Dorrington keeps on about his various requests. #MCC

McCulloch asks about relationships between general duty members at the RCMP and Truro Police Service. Dorringon: the general duty members are fine with each other, it's the higher ups that are the problem. Why, Chief Dave McNeil said the RCMP had a string of catastrophes. #MCC

"That's not helpful," says Dorrington. "Chief MacNeil should take a good look at himself... I'd like to see how good he would've done with Portapique" #MCC

McCulloch: so, you're basing this on stuff that happened after Portapique? Dorrington: "oh no, there's plenty more" #MCC

Dorrington repeats that he was travelling over 200 kph when rushing towards Portapique #MCC

Commissioner Leanne Fitch asks Dorrington if he was ever given instructions to look for potential living victims in Portapique. Dorrington: "No." #MCC

That's really the issue here: the murders started at 10pm on Saturday. ERT pulled out of Portapique at around 10:30am Sunday. And the Tucks and Bonds weren't found until nearly 5pm. Over those 18 hours, there could've been people bleeding out #MCC

Dorrington, reflecting on his criticism of RCMP brass: "I chose to be a constable, and I'll probably be a constable forever." #MCC

3 videos of the killing of the killer at the Enfield Big Stop are now public. I'm looking around for direct links, one moment... #MCC

Well, as usual, there seems to be a bit of a lag between when we're told something is public and it actually becomes public. I'll drive back to Dartmouth and see if they're live by then. #MCC

Here are the 5 videos of killing of the killer at the Enfield Big Stop:
• masscasualtycommission.ca/fd-source-vide…
• masscasualtycommission.ca/fd-source-vide…
• masscasualtycommission.ca/fd-source-vide…
• masscasualtycommission.ca/fd-source-vide…
• masscasualtycommission.ca/fd-source-vide…

The commissioners' decision to release the videos is found here: masscasualtycommission.ca/files/document…