6 different reports recommended carbines for frontline RCMP officers before adoption

The RCMP's trial on charges the force violated the Canadian Labour Code during its response to the shooting of Mounties in Moncton heard Tuesday about six reports done for the force between 2006 and 2011 that concluded frontline officers needed better equipment and training to deal with active shooting situations.

The Crown called Supt. Bruce Stuart, who has been with the RCMP since 1990 and is an expert in tactical operations and the use of force, as its first witness.

The national police force was charged with four health and safety violations after an investigation into the shootings of five RCMP officers on June 4, 2014, in Moncton that left three dead and two wounded.

Stuart began working on a framework for reacting to active threats when he arrived at the national headquarters in Ottawa in 2006. He created what eventually became known as the "Immediate Action Rapid Deployment" program, or IARD.

'It was overwhelming'

In March 2006, Stuart sent a briefing note discussing needing to either make considerable improvements to shotguns for these situations or for the force to look at carbines, which are superior to shotguns, he explained.

The note identified the ​233 carbine rifle as the best weapon for frontline officers. It also talked about the need to provide them with hard body armour.

The briefing note made its way up the management chain. The deputy commissioner instructed Stuart to continue researching carbines, but Stuart was alone on the project and had a dozen other projects he was working on at the same time, the Moncton courtroom heard.

"I get the sense this was all-consuming at the time," said Crown prosecutor Paul Adams.

"It was overwhelming, I think would be the only way to describe it," replied Stuart.

Stuart testified that after an RCMP officer fired a taser at a civilian at the Vancouver airport in 2007, resulting in his death, his focus was shifted from carbines, and thoughts about adoption were put on hold.

Then finally around 2008-2009, he voiced concerns about the project not moving forward.

An independent researcher, Carleton University criminologist Darryl Davies, was ultimately hired and recommended, this time in 2011 that the RCMP adopt carbines, Stuart said.

But after the report, another study was commissioned by the RCMP to determine whether there was a gap between what firearms frontline officers needed, and what they had.

The study analyzed 10 active shooting cases in Canada, including Mayerthorpe and the Dawson College shooting in Montreal, when officers went to known long guns calls and only used pistols or shot guns.

The study concluded frontline RCMP members were not adequately equipped.

The RCMP's senior executive committee decided to continue studying the use of carbines, and commissioned another study, this one analyzing 32 shooting events.

The report came to the same conclusions.

Two other reports were done after that, and then by Sept. 6, 2011, the senior executive committee gave its approval for frontline officers to adopt carbines.

The deployment and the training of the carbines began in 2014, and varied from province to province, depending on funding available and assessed threat level.

"If Bruce Stuart had his way, we would have had a national rollout," said Stuart. "We're one organization."

At the time of the Moncton shooting in June 2014, no one in the local detachment was yet trained on the carbines, whereas some detachments elsewhere in the country were more advanced.

Charges after investigation

Employment and Social Development Canada investigated, which happens any time a federal government employee dies on the job.

The investigation concluded in May 2015 with charges against the national police force, which was accused of four health and safety violations under the Canada Labour Code.

No individual RCMP manager or supervisor is named in the charges, which are:

- Failing to provide RCMP members with appropriate use of force equipment and related user training when responding to an active threat or active shooter event.

- Failing to provide RCMP members with appropriate information, instruction and/or training to ensure their health and safety when responding to an active threat or active shooter event in an open environment.

- Failing to provide RCMP supervisory personnel with appropriate information, instruction and/or training to ensure the health and safety of RCMP members when responding to an active threat or active shooter event in an open environment.

- Failing to ensure the health and safety at work of every person employed by it, namely: RCMP members, was protected.

Each charge carries a maximum fine of $1 million.

Just over two months have been set aside for the trial.

The RCMP pleaded not guilty to all charges and elected to be tried by judge only.

Correction : In an earlier version of this story, it was reported that Supt. Bruce Stuart sent a briefing note in March 2016 discussing the need to either make considerable improvements to shotguns or have the force look at carbines. Stuart made the report in March 2006.(Apr 26, 2017 8:44 AM)