Many knew of N.S. killer's replica RCMP patrol car but didn't report to police
A public inquiry heard Monday that many people knew about a replica patrol car owned by the gunman in Nova Scotia's mass shooting, but they didn't tell police about his suspicious activities.
The killer meticulously recreated a fully marked RCMP Ford Taurus -- complete with a black push bar and Mountie decals -- before driving it during the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that resulted in 22 murders over 13 hours.
Commission lawyer Amanda Byrd presented a summary Monday of how the killer acquired four decommissioned Ford Taurus police vehicles in 2019 from the federal government's online auction site, known as GCSurplus.
She also told the inquiry that there's no indication anyone who saw the fully marked car or photographs of it before the rampage reported it to the police.
"Many civilian witnesses told the RCMP in their statements after the events that they either had seen or had knowledge of this replica .... The commission doesn't currently have evidence to suggest that any of these witness reported the vehicle to police," Byrd said.
The inquiry's summary about the killer's police gear says that people aware of the marked car included the killer's wife and some of her relatives, friends, neighbours, a lawyer, clients at the killer's denturist clinic and contractors who worked on his Portapique, N.S., properties.
It also says a number of the witnesses were told by the gunman it was legal to have such a vehicle, and he assured them he had checked with authorities and was planning to use it in parades, rent it to movie productions or transform it into a memorial for fallen RCMP members.
The Criminal Code says it's against the law to falsely represent oneself to be a police officer or to use police gear to impersonate a police officer, but is silent on the issue of whether someone can simply own a marked vehicle for a personal display.
Max Liberatore, a manager at the GCSurplus warehouse in Dartmouth, N.S., testified Monday that the killer frequently visited the warehouse to purchase the police cars.
He also told the inquiry that he recalled the gunman showing him photos of the decommissioned replica RCMP cruiser. "We were just talking outside (the warehouse). We asked him one time ... why do you like buying these cars?" he said during his testimony.
Liberatore said during cross-examination by Tara Miller -- a lawyer representing victims' family members -- that the killer told him he intended to use the replica cruiser for parades, and as a result he didn't report the matter to the RCMP. Miller asked whether Liberatore was ever given any training on how to recognize and report suspicious behaviour, and he replied he had not.
Documents released Monday by the commission also said the killer arrived at a Mercedes dealership with his spouse before the mass shooting in a fully marked police vehicle. The service manager at the dealership told an inquiry investigator he'd asked the killer "how he could drive around like that, and the perpetrator responded that it was 'just a hobby' and it was 'known' that he was doing so." The witness did not report the incident to police.
Several family members of Lisa Banfield said they'd questioned Gabriel Wortman about the replica vehicle.
Charles Banfield, Lisa Banfield's brother, told the RCMP on April 19, 2020, he'd asked the killer what he was doing with a replica car. James Banfield, another of Banfield's brothers, said the killer told him he planned to put a heart on the vehicle and make it a memorial for fallen officers.
In his statement to the RCMP on April 28, 2020, Robert MacAskill, a friend of one of the killer's victims, Aaron Tuck, said he and Tuck discussed the decommissioned replica RCMP cruiser and he talked to Tuck about calling Crime Stoppers to report it. The commission's summary says, "Mr. Tuck said he could not report it as the perpetrator had threatened him."
There were also sightings of the vehicle being driven around Portapique, the inquiry's summary says.
It notes that a friend of Lisa McCully's told the RCMP "she saw the perpetrator drive onto his Portapique property in the fully marked decommissioned replica RCMP cruiser." McCully was one of the victims in Portapique.
At the time of the mass shooting, it wasn't explicitly illegal under provincial law to have a replica police vehicle for display.
New legislation in Nova Scotia, coming into effect in May, will make it illegal for unauthorized people to possess police vehicles and gear.
However, Robert Pineo, a lawyer who represents 14 of the 22 victims' families, said in an interview Monday that he believes changes to the Criminal Code and to provincial legislation across Canada are needed to prohibit possession of marked police cars by the general public.
N.S. man removes push bar from decommissioned police car after RCMP receive complaint
A Nova Scotia man has removed equipment, including a push bar, from his decommissioned police vehicle after the RCMP received a complaint about the car.
The RCMP received a report about a decommissioned police car being driven in Annapolis County on May 27.
Police say the vehicle had a push bar attached to the front and “police interceptor” markings on the back.
RCMP investigators met with the owner and told him the items were prohibited under Nova Scotia’s new Police Identity Management Act.
RCMP Cpl. Chris Marshall tells CTV News that the Ford Taurus was, in fact, a decommissioned police vehicle, which the man had purchased and brought in from Ontario.
Marshall says the car was not an RCMP vehicle, but he isn’t sure which police force it came from.
The RCMP told the man he would be charged if he did not remove the police equipment from the car.
Police say the man went to the Bridgetown RCMP detachment on June 2 and turned in the push bar and police interceptor badge, which will be destroyed by the RCMP.
Marshall says the owner was “very cooperative” with police, is now free to drive the vehicle, and won’t face charges.
POLICE IDENTITY MANAGEMENT ACT
This is the first time the Nova Scotia RCMP have used the province’s new Police Identity Management Act, which came into effect on May 12.
The legislation, which was first introduced in the provincial legislature in March 2021, is the first of its kind in Canada.
It was already a federal crime to impersonate a police officer, but Nova Scotia’s Police Identity Management Act makes it illegal to sell or possess police-issued items, such as uniforms, badges, and patches.
Only serving police officers or persons with police authorization are now permitted to have such items.
The law also prohibits the sale and possession of police-vehicle equipment, such as decals, police radios and computers, and lightbars.
Under the act, police agencies in Nova Scotia must dispose of surplus gear and remove all equipment and markings from decommissioned police vehicles.
Anyone else is being asked to surrender items to their local police department or render them unusable.
According to the act, the only places such gear can be used outside of law enforcement is at museums or as part of a “dramatic work,” such as a film set.
Penalties include fines of up to $10,000 or three months in jail for individuals. A corporation could face a maximum fine of $25,000.
NOVA SCOTIA MASS SHOOTING
The complaint about the decommissioned police vehicle comes at a time when an inquiry is investigating Nova Scotia’s mass shooting.
The Police Identity Management Act was created in direct response to the mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 Nova Scotians in April 2020.
The gunman was driving a fully-marked replica RCMP car, which he created from a decommissioned police vehicle purchased at an auction. He also purchased a number of surplus police items online.
At the time, it wasn’t illegal for Gabriel Wortman to own those items. Now, under the act, the ownership of police items can be reported to authorities and charges can be laid.
The families of his 22 victims have said the law should be applied across the country
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