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The RCMP is defending itself after an internal email raised new questions about the police force’s response to the mass stabbings on the James Smith Cree Nation last September.
According to the report from The Canadian Press, a specialized RCMP team that handles high-risk situations wasn’t able to immediately respond to a mass stabbing in Saskatchewan because the team’s contract was being negotiated at the time.
The attack, perpetrated by Myles Sanderson, left 11 people dead and 18 injured.
The report quoted an internal email from Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP. According to the report, Blackmore said the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team Special Activities Group was not immediately available to help because the team was “in between contracts.”
The RCMP told The Canadian Press that the team was eventually deployed to help, but didn’t say when the group ultimately arrived in Saskatchewan.
Later on Friday, the RCMP responded.
According to a statement from the Mounties, the team “was an asset that assists in locating individuals, which was not immediately available.”
The RCMP said the team “later” deployed to Saskatchewan to help in the manhunt for Sanderson, but “wasn’t directly involved in his arrest on September 7.”
The RCMP said Saskatchewan’s own Emergency Response Team did deploy early on Sept. 4, the day of the attack, and was joined by other teams from Ottawa and Alberta.
“Hundreds of officers and employees from Saskatchewan RCMP – as well as other RCMP divisions, municipal police forces and public safety partners – worked tirelessly to investigate the homicides and restore public safety in the aftermath of this tragedy,” the Mounties said.
“As part of our response, we also used many advanced policing technologies.”
Wally Burns, chief of the James Smith Cree Nation, called for more First Nations policing in the wake of the tragedy.
“The true answer to overcoming these barriers to safety and protection is self-administered policing on our First Nation,” Burns said in April.
“I will keep echoing this truth until we have access to proper policing supports in place that fit the needs of our community.”
Justin Trudeau visits James Smith Cree Nation and pays his respects to victims of the violent Labour Day long weekend mass stabbing on Nov. 18, 2022. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)