Inquiry hears contradictory evidence from N.S. Mounties

A public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass murder rampage in 2020 heard shockingly contradictory evidence from two RCMP officers who were both at the scene of one of the 22 victims.

Both versions are heartbreaking, but stark inconsistency between two veteran officers, as well as in some of their previous statements, remained frustratingly unreconciled Thursday, leading some in the public gallery to shout out “liar” during the hearing.

RCMP Const. Ian Fahie took the stand first at a public inquiry into the shooting spree by Gabriel Wortman, who was masquerading as an RCMP officer.

Fahie spoke of efforts to save Heather O'Brien, 55, who was shot in her car as she was driving near Debert, N.S., on the morning of April 19, 2020.

Fahie said he and fellow constable Devonna Coleman arrived to find O'Brien's Jetta in a ditch and checked her for vital signs.

In a written report soon after, he wrote of O'Brien, “the female was barely alive, showing very little signs. Weak pulse very slight noises.”

In a previous interview for the inquiry he said, “I'm trying to put the car in park and trying to drag her out.”

In his report, previous interview, and in Thursday's testimony, Fahie said a member of an Emergency Medical Response Team (EMRT) arrived, tapped his shoulder at the car as he was trying to treat O'Brien and said, “I got this.”

The next witness was RCMP Corp. Duane Ivany, the EMRT officer who Fahie said tapped him on the shoulder.

“That did not happen,” Ivany said of Fahie's testimony. Ivany testified that when he and his partner, Const. Jeff Mahar, arrived at the scene, Fahie and Coleman were on the road behind their car, guns drawn looking at the treeline.

He said no one was at the car and when he and Mahar got to the Jetta, the windows on both sides were up and the doors jammed shut.