PM FOLLOWED ATTACK PROTOCOL, RCMP CHIEF SAYS

Stephen Harper did “exactly” what he was supposed to do when bullets started flying outside the room where he was meeting with the Conservative caucus almost one year ago, Canada’s top Mountie said Wednesday.

Following gunman Michael Zehaf Bibeau’s assault on Parliament Hill on Oct. 22, Harper was ridiculed by some on social media after it emerged that he hid in a closet-like space for about 15 minutes.

But RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, in his first remarks about the prime minister’s actions that day, told the National Post that Harper followed the training he had received.

“He had a (standard operating procedure) to apply in those circumstances, and he did,” Paulson said. “He executed exactly what we’d trained him … how we informed him how he should respond in the event of an attack.”

Paulson said Harper and his family had received extensive training about how to respond to scenarios including “attacks on meetings abroad, attacks on meetings domestically, attacks on the vehicle, attacks on the convoy, all that kind of stuff.”

“The more you exercise, the better you are positioned to protect yourself,” the commissioner said.

In an interview with the CBC last December, Harper acknowledged going through different simulation drills.

“The RCMP has run me through some drills to simulate these kinds of situations. So, you know, as a prime minister, you’re in a little bit different position of other people,” he said at the time.

Harper did not directly confirm reports he took refuge inside a closet, saying only, “One of the things you try and do is conceal yourself if you can, but obviously the best situation is to exit.” He was eventually whisked out of the Parliament Buildings while other MPs remained on lockdown.

Prior to Oct. 22, Harper’s security detail did not accompany him inside the Parliament Buildings. That immediately changed following the attack.