The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Former MP Casey outraged at inaccurate emergency alert
Says safety of Amherst and Cumberland County residents at risk
Bill Casey figured he had little to worry about judging by the Wednesday morning emergency alert out of New Brunswick.
It popped up on the former Cumberland-colchester MP’S phone in Amherst at 9:06 a.m. The New Brunswick RCMPissued alert said they were looking for a gunman in the Moncton area, 66 kilometers away from the town. The suspect, Janson Bryan Baker, was “reported to be carrying firearms with the intent to use them,” said the alert.
Casey and most of the town wouldn’t have known that the Amherst Police department had discovered the gunman’s car in Amherst at roughly 8 a.m. an hour before New Brunswick RCMP issued the alert.
“I saw the alert and I didn’t take any precautions, I didn’t give it much of a thought," said Casey. "But the gunman had been in our town for hours and the RCMP put out wrong information that put our community at risk."
More than two and half hours would go by before Amherst residents would get an updated Nova Scotia-wide alert. Issued at 11:42 a.m. it warned of a shooting in Riverview N.B., the day before and that the suspect’s vehicle had been located in Amherst.
Unlike the previous alert, there was no mention of Baker being armed. That followed another province-widewide alert 22 minutes later saying the suspect had been arrested without incident.
On Friday, The Chronicle Herald spoke to RCMP Chief Supt. Chris Leather, who said he had no knowledge of the Wednesday morning alert issued by the New Brunswick RCMP. But he said he knew that the force was thinking about issuing another alert given it had been several hours since the last one went out. He also said RCMP in both provinces along with Amherst police worked hand and hand to track down the suspect in Amherst late Wednesday morning.
It appears the gunman had been in Amherst for several
hours when the New Brunswick RCMP said they were searching for the gunman in the Moncton area. Leather said he believes that the stolen car driven by the gunman was abandoned in Amherst in the early morning hours of Wednesday, after crossing the New Brunswick/nova Scotia border somewhere between 1 and 3 a.m.
The gunman is believed to have abandoned the vehicle and met up with acquaintances at an apartment building a few blocks away where he was arrested close to noon Wednesday.
Casey said the timing of the alerts shows at best a breakdown in communication between the police agencies. He’s skeptical that New Brunswick RCMP was not told quicky of the location of the suspect’s car in Amherst. Either way it’s unacceptable that New Brunswick and Amherst residents were fed wrong information about the location of the suspect, he said.
New Brunswick RCMP eventually tweeted the news about the car’s location at 9:37 a.m., an hour and a half after it had been discovered. They sent out another tweet advising residents to go about their daily routines.
Casey said the information should have been issued in a follow-up alert, not via social media.
"The RCMP has since said that “the system worked” and that it “would have been reckless to issue an alert sooner” but I disagree," said Casey.
"It was reckless to allow the alert with the wrong information to be left outstanding when they knew that the man who was“carrying firearms with the intent to use them” was in Amherst."
The miscommunication could have had serious consequences for Amherst and surrounding Cumberland County residents, said Casey. He said shortly after the vehicle was located in Amherst an emergency alert should have been issued Cumberland County wide.
He said the communication breakdown is particularly concerning given the enormous public backlash over the RCMP'S handling of the Portapique massacre in April. During which a public alert was never issued and the force resorted to social media posts to share critical information with the public.
Similarly, in this case Amherst and Cumberland residents were forced to get intermittent updates of the situation via RCMP Twitter and Facebook accounts. Casey said he first found out that the gunman was in Amherst at about 10 a.m. after getting a call from a friend.
But Leather defended the RCMP'S handling of the situation. He said it would have been irresponsible to issue an alert soon after's the vehicle's discovery because police didn't have enough information.
They didn't know, for example, if the suspect was still armed and where he might be, he said. Leather also said only Amherst Police Chief Dwayne Pike had the authority to request an emergency alert for Amherst since the town is outside the RCMP'S jurisdiction. Leather said he supported Pike's decision against an alert.
Leather said RCMP were tipped off of the suspect's whereabouts at about 10:15. Shortly after heavily armed officers from multiple detachments went to the apartment. But Leather said police didn't know for sure he was at the location until the man jumped out of a twostorey window and he was promptly arrested.
He said the RCMP moved to call an alert at the time they were following up on tips of the suspect's whereabouts. While the RCMP
thought it was likely the suspect was at the apartment, investigators also knew the suspect could be anywhere in Nova Scotia, said Leather. Chief Pike and Leather made the decision to request an emergency alert.
Leather said that the RCMP has written guidelines around the use of emergency alerts but the Herald was not able to obtain a copy by deadline.
Nova Scotia RCMP reached out to the province's Emergency Measures Office to issue the emergency alert at 10:40. It took roughly an hour before the alert was issued. The process was mired down by administrative work before the alert was issued at 11:42.
Leather said the warning could have gone out earlier if the RCMP had the authority to issue emergency alerts. New Brunswick RCMP can issue alerts on its own and Leather said Nova Scotia RCMP has all the qualifications to do the same.
"It would be much more efficient and effective process because the alert is getting to the public sooner. That's why we've been requesting direct access."
Chuck Porter, the minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Office in Nova Scotia, said the department is in discussions with police on allowing direct access to the emergency alert
system. On Friday, the Herald inquired with EMO on why it's involved in the process in the first place but the question wasn't addressed.
Casey said the system in Nova Scotia isn't working and the RCMP and province have to figure out a way to fix it.
But Leather insists there's no cookie-cutter approach around when and when not to issue alerts and the right way to keep the public informed during an emergency.
"Even in this instance where we collectively made a decision that we can stand behind we're going to be criticized," said Leather.
"What I have to do is put some of that aside and focus on the policy. We have the risk that's presented to us, the investigative updates that would inform our decisions about the timing of the alert."