Spouse of N.S. gunman sues provincial, federal governments over 'malicious prosecution'
Lisa Banfield says her reputation, quality of life were damaged after accusation of helping gunman
The partner of the gunman who killed 22 people in the Nova Scotia mass shooting is suing the provincial and federal governments after she was accused of providing ammunition to Gabriel Wortman.
In her statement of claim, Lisa Banfield says her reputation and quality of life were damaged, and that she endured pain and suffering, loss of income, out-of-pocket expenses, legal fees and cost of care.
The statement of claim filed Oct. 21 doesn't list a dollar amount, but she is seeking damages in an amount to be determined by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
In her statement of claim, Banfield alleges Nova Scotia RCMP were pressured to charge her by federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and Nova Scotia Attorney General Mark Furey "as it threatened to expose errors committed by the Nova Scotia RCMP in their response to the events of April 18-19, 2020."
Banfield was charged Dec. 4, 2020, with providing the gunman with ammunition. On July 23, 2022, Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Services announced the charge against Banfield was being withdrawn after she completed restorative justice.
"As a result of this malicious prosecution, [Banfield] has suffered significant losses for which she claims general and special damages," the statement of claim said.
Banfield alleges the Nova Scotia RCMP "was negligent in the course of its investigation," and failed to inform her of her right to counsel throughout her recorded statements of April 19, 2020.
According to the statement of claim, Banfield got a lawyer who spoke to Staff Sgt. Greg Vardy and was "assured" she was being interviewed "solely as a victim."
"Nevertheless, neither Staff Sgt. Vardy, nor any member of the RCMP advised [Banfield] of her right to counsel during her subsequent interviews on April 20, April 28, or June 28, 2020, not before the recorded re-enactment which took place in late October 2020," the statement of claim said.
"As a result of this negligence, [Banfield] was wrongfully charged."
Banfield alleges RCMP and the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service should never have charged her.
"These charges were unlawful, due to documented circumstances of coercive control and life-threatening violence over the entirety of their common-law relationship," the statement of claim said.
Nova Scotia RCMP said they have not yet been served with Banfield's civil claim.
"With this in mind, we will not be responding to allegations in any such claim," the force told CBC News in an email.
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns told CBC News on Thursday afternoon that his department had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
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RCMP diverted attention from errors made during mass shooting investigation: lawsuit
The spouse of the man responsible for the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history says she was charged with supplying ammunition to the killer because the RCMP wanted to deflect attention from mistakes made during their investigation.
In a lawsuit filed Oct. 21 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Lisa Banfield accuses the RCMP and the province's Public Prosecution Service of conspiring to stage a malicious prosecution that led to a "trumped-up charge" filed on Dec. 4, 2020.
"(The) Nova Scotia RCMP instigated a baseless investigation into the plaintiff's involvement in the events of April 18-19, 2020 in an effort to draw attention away from the errors committed by the ... RCMP in their response to the (killings)," the lawsuit alleges.
The allegations have not been tested in court. The federal and provincial attorneys general -- both of whom are named in the suit -- could not be immediately reached for comment.
The statement of claim, filed in the courthouse in Amherst, N.S., goes on to allege the charge against Banfield was intended to create the appearance that the RCMP were doing something after a federal-provincial inquiry was established in July 2020.
As well, Banfield alleges the RCMP failed to inform her of her right to have a lawyer present when she provided recorded statements to the Mounties and later walked them through her actions on the night the killing started in Portapique, N.S.
The document concludes by arguing the charge was unlawful because the Mounties and the Crown failed to recognize that Banfield's partner, denture-maker Gabriel Wortman, had subjected her to life-threatening violence throughout their relationship.
"(The) actions of the Nova Scotia RCMP and the (Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service) ... were a blatant and callous disregard of the plaintiff's rights," the lawsuit says.
According to the suit, the RCMP had assured Banfield she was "being viewed solely as a victim" early in their investigation.
And when RCMP first announced charges against Banfield, her brother and brother-in-law, investigators acknowledged the three had no knowledge of what the gunman would do. They were charged with giving the killer .223-calibre Remington cartridges and .40-calibre Smith and Wesson cartridges. All charges were withdrawn by the Crown after the trio took part in a restorative justice program.
The public inquiry, which wrapped up public hearings in September, heard that on the night of April 18, 2020, Wortman beat Banfield and fired gunshots at her before she was handcuffed and shoved in the back of a car that he had modified to look exactly like a marked RCMP cruiser.
Banfield managed to escape and hid in a nearby wooded lot in Portapique, before she fled to a neighbour's home, where police were called at dawn.
The gunman fatally shot 13 people in Portapique before fleeing the rural enclave around 10:45 p.m. After spending the night in nearby Debert, N.S., he killed another nine people while leading police on a chase that spanned more than 100 kilometres across northern and central Nova Scotia. After 13 hours at large, he was shot to death by a Mountie when he stopped at a gas station north of Halifax.
Banfield was interviewed by RCMP investigators on April 19, 20 and 28 -- but she was never told she could have a lawyer with her, the lawsuit alleges.
During a news conference on April 28, 2020, RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell described Banfield as the "first victim," and he emphasized that she did not have anything to do with the killer's actions, the document says.
The lawsuit says the inquiry, which started hearings in February 2022, "placed intense pressure on the Nova Scotia RCMP as it threatened to expose errors committed" by the Mounties. That pressure prompted the RCMP to launch a prosecution that caused Banfield to "suffer significant losses for which she claims general and special damages." The amount of damages sought is not specified.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
Lisa Banfield suing federal, provincial governments alleging ‘trumped up charge’ was designed to cover RCMP failure
Lisa Banfield testifies at the Mass Casualty Commission on Friday, July 15, 2022. Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan The common-law spouse of the Nova Scotia mass murderer is suing the federal and provincial governments, alleging the charge against her was an attempt to cover for the RCMP’s failures in April 2020.
The RCMP announced the charge against Lisa Banfield in December 2020, accusing her of transporting ammunition to the killer, who the Halifax Examiner refers to by his initials, GW. Those charges were withdrawn in July 2022 after Banfield testified at the Mass Casualty Commission.
Last month, Banfield’s lawyer, Moncton-based Brian Murphy, filed a notice of action in Amherst Supreme Court against the provincial and federal governments.
“The Plaintiff states, and the fact is, that the Nova Scotia RCMP instigated a baseless investigation into the Plaintiff’s involvement in the events of April 18-19, 2020 in an effort to draw attention away from the errors committed by the Nova Scotia RCMP in their response to the events of April 18-19, 2020,” Murphy wrote in the filing, dated Oct. 20.
“As a result of the RCMP’s baseless investigation, the Plaintiff was charged by the NSPPS on December 4, 2020. As a result of this malicious prosecution, the Plaintiff has suffered significant losses for which she claims general and special damages.”
None of the claims in the notice of action has been tested in court, and neither level of government has filed a defence.
Murphy argued in the statement that when federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and then-provincial Justice Minister and Attorney General Mark Furey announced a joint review (which later became an inquiry following public scrutiny), that “placed intense pressure on the Nova Scotia RCMP as it threatened to expose errors committed by” the Mounties on April 18-19 2020.
“The Plaintiff states that, in response to the announcement by Minister Blair and Attorney General Furey on July 23, 2020, though Assistant Commissioner [Lee Bergerman] publicly welcomed the joint inquiry, the RCMP began constructing charges against the Plaintiff in order to create the appearance that the Nova Scotia RCMP was accomplishing something.”
The Nova Scotia RCMP was “negligent” in its investigation, Murphy wrote, and it failed to notify Banfield that she was being investigated. Banfield gave interviews to police on April 20, April 28, and June 28, and performed a videotaped re-enactment of the night of the murders in October 2020. But on those occasions, Banfield wasn’t informed of her right to counsel.
“The Plaintiff retained counsel on April 20, 2020, who spoke to Staff Sergeant [Greg] Vardy and was assured that the Plaintiff was being viewed solely as a victim,” Murphy wrote.
Banfield only learned she was under investigation when the RCMP announced charges, Murphy wrote.
The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service (NSPPS), along with the RCMP, Murphy alleges, “pursued a baseless and trumped up charge” against Banfield.
“The Plaintiff states, and the fact is that the NSPPS and the Nova Scotia RCMP, defamed the Plaintiff with their accusations that she had provided the Perpetrator with ammunition prior to the events of April 18-19, 2020. The Plaintiff states that such allegations were false, referred to the Plaintiff, and were published in a statement by Superintendent Campbell on the RCMP website on December 4, 2020,” Murphy wrote.
“These charges were unlawful, due to documented circumstances of coercive control and life-threatening violence over the entirety of their common law relationship. The Plaintiff states and the fact is, that the Defendants, the Nova Scotia RCMP and the NSPPS, ought to have known that these charges would cause injury to the Plaintiff.”
The RCMP and NSPPS’ actions, Murphy wrote, “were a blatant and callous disregard of the Plaintiff’s rights, and were offensive to the ordinary standards of decent conduct in the community.”
Banfield is seeking to-be-determined general, special, and punitive damages for “loss of reputation, quality of life, pain and suffering;” “loss of past income and loss of future earning capacity;” expenses; legal fees; and “cost of care.”
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