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Mass shooting inquiry: RCMP officers doubted reports about replica police cruiser

Cops doubted initial reports

The first three RCMP officers to respond to the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April 2020 testified today that they were initially doubtful the killer was in a marked RCMP vehicle.

Const. Stuart Beselt, the team leader that night, told the inquiry that as the three were driving at top speed to the scene of the shootings in rural Portapique, N.S., they had to keep an open mind about what they were being told by the dispatcher.

Beselt says he could never have imagined that the suspect's vehicle was an exact replica of a fully marked RCMP police cruiser, complete with emergency lights.

He and Const. Aaron Patton told the inquiry that had the three officers encountered the vehicle in the darkened enclave, they probably would have hesitated as they moved in on foot, making them easy targets for the gunman.

As well, the inquiry heard that all three officers were concerned the description of the vehicle may have been misleading because exaggerated complaints to police are often made by people with mental illnesses.

Beselt and Patton offered their testimony today along with Const. Adam Merchant as members of a witness panel, answering questions from inquiry lawyer Roger Burrill.

Their testimony marked the first time the inquiry has heard from anyone directly involved in the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history.



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