Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

Staff Sgt. Colin White, left, Chief Supt. Wade Blake, and Insp. Jamie Zettler address media at the RCMP detachment in Yellowknife on Wednesday about the Medicine Hat Police Services investigation that exonerated Yellowknife RCMP officers in the shooting death of Karen Lander last March. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Three RCMP officers fired their weapons, striking Karen Lander four times as the distraught woman walked toward them while brandishing a long-barrelled firearm, Yellowknife RCMP told reporters Wednesday, as more details were revealed in last March's fatal shooting.

A third-party investigation by the Medicine Hat Police Services in Alberta ruled the shooting lawful last week. As a result, none of the RCMP officers involved will be charged.

The NWT does not have an independent investigative unit and therefore looks to police units outside the territory to conduct external investigations when RCMP are involved in a shooting.

Lander, 42, exited a home on Glick Court on March 14 after barricading herself there for several hours. She approached the four-member RCMP response team carrying the firearm, and was told to stop and drop the weapon but instead pointed it at police, said Chief Supt. Wade Blake of the RCMP G Division. That's when police fired.

RCMP officers performed first aid on Lander immediately after the shooting, said Blake. She was then transported to Stanton Territorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

"I don't think as an organization we should stand and say that we're above being reviewed or above being asked questions, and hard questions, and we're not," said Blake.

"Sometimes unfortunately incidents help us improve the way we do business and review on a continual basis what our policies are and how we serve the public."

Blake said public confidence in the police is essential to the RCMP's ability to serve the public, adding the circumstances of the shooting were examined fairly and thoroughly by Medicine Hat investigators.

Insp. Jamie Zettler said the Medicine Hat Police Services report is "substantial," filled with statements and reports from civilian and police witnesses, forensic experts and firearms experts.

The RCMP will review the report in detail, pondering such details as whether police provided the necessary help to Lander in dealings with the RCMP before the incident, according to Blake.

"We'll also look at, is there an opportunity that we could do something different or is there a policy that could be strengthened or did we do everything according to what we had planned," he said.

Blake said the officers who attended the scene were equipped with both nonlethal and lethal weapons but, as the situation unfolded, it became clear officers had to fire their weapons to protect themselves. He said officers acquire the training to know what type of force, if any, to use in any given situation.

"They have to assess not only is there firearms involved, the environmental issues, they also have to assess the mental state of the person ... But they're limited to only that much information at the time. Then they have to make split-second decisions at the time based on what they see in those fleeting seconds sometimes," said Blake.

The emergency response team involved in the shooting met with an RCMP psychologist and, after several days off, returned to work full-time.

RCMP G division will wait until the NWT chief coroner decides if there is to be an inquest before making the third-party report public.

Cathy Menard, chief coroner for the NWT, said last week it will likely be a month before any decision is made on whether to proceed with a coroner's inquest into the incident.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.