The RCMP are facing unprecedented pressure this week in Nova Scotia.
Twenty-two victims, maybe more, were taken in the worst mass killing in Canadian history. Those victims included one of their own, Const. Heidi Stevenson, killed in the line of duty.
They chased a diabolical killer for 12 hours over rural roads all through northern and central areas of the province.
The killer left crime scenes in 16 locations. Scenes like this require technical expertise from many agencies and police specialists. Arson investigators, DNA analysts and other emergency response crews would have been overwhelmed on Sunday.
There are probably enough of these personnel to cover two or three scenes like this in the province at any given time. Sixteen is beyond the scope of any police force’s capabilities, beyond even a big-city force.
The killer took great pains to look like one of them, raising the danger during the chase of police officers mistaking each other for him.
The Mounties are certainly feeling the anguish we all share. The pain was evident in Chief Superintendent Chris Leather’s demeanour on Sunday.
We shouldn’t forget that they did stop the rampage. It’s hard to believe that it could have been worse, but it’s true. RCMP actions on Sunday stopped the killer in his tracks at great cost to their own and we are thankful.
But Premier Stephen McNeil spoke for many Nova Scotians on Tuesday when he questioned why the force didn’t send out an emergency alert on Sunday morning while the killer was still active.
He said provincial officials were informed late Saturday of the fires in Portapique and EMO officials were standing by in case they needed to post an alert, which would have gone to every cell phone in the province.
That didn’t happen, and on Tuesday, the premier was asked why.
“That is something that all Nova Scotians are wondering,” he said.
Chief Supt. Leather provided a partial answer late on Wednesday, saying an alert was being composed when the killer was shot by police at midday in Enfield.
Many questions remain to be answered and it will be many months before this investigation concludes.
What drove this man to these unthinkable acts? What was his connection to some of the victims? How does anyone acquire enough equipment to so closely resemble an RCMP officer?
We may never know the answer to some of these questions. And we should withhold judgment until more of the facts surrounding this devastating incident become clear.
But the province and the RCMP should be talking about whether our emergency alert system is comprehensive enough, to ensure that warnings reach as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
This shouldn’t be seen as pointing fingers. That would be unfair. Rather, it’s about learning what could have been done better, if, God forbid, something like this ever happens again.
