REGINA – Day two of the public inquest into the death of 42 year-old Gerald Lord, who was killed in his Holdfast home by police, continued Tuesday.
Six witnesses have been scheduled to take the stand.
Const. Jason Buettner of the Watrous RCMP, who was the first officer to arrive on scene after the shooting testified his morning, as did Chase Tannahill, the paramedic who pronounced Lord deceased.
READ MORE: Public inquiry begins into death of 42-year-old Holdfast man, killed by RCMP.
Buettner testified that he heard of the incident via radio transmission and arrived on scene around 10:20 p.m.
Buettner said he found Const. Eric standing outside his police vehicle and asked if he was okay and whether the suspect was dead, which Eric replied, “I’m pretty sure.”
Buettner also said once he arrived on scene, he told Cons. Eric to sit in his truck and escorted Tannahill of Imperial EMS to the back of the house.
Tannahill told the court he arrived on scene at approximately 10:30 p.m. after being dispatched from Imperial, SK at 9:53 p.m. An RCMP member led him to the back entrance way where Lord’s body lay.
“Breathing was absent, pulse was absent and there was two gunshot wounds to the chest,” Tannahill testified.
Tannahill said that he did not disturb the body and pronounced Lord deceased at 10:34 p.m.
Shortly after 11 p.m., Tannahill said he left the scene before calling off S.T.A.R.S. Air Ambulance.
Buettner also testified that after Tannahill departed he was given instructions from a supervisor in Regina, to clear the house, which means to make sure no one else is inside.
“It was a bungalow house and we entered through the front door,” Buettner said.
Buettner said he cleared the house with an accompanying officer and said “Nothing was moved in the house.”
When asked by counsel if working alone in rural areas was common, Bruettner replied “unfortunately.”
READ MORE: Two years later: Questions remain after Sask. man shot, killed by RCMP
One of the jurors questioned Buettner why he used the word unfortunately, to which Bruttner explained it would be nice to have a partner during certain times of the shift.
Court also heard that Regina Police (RPS) were requested by RCMP to oversee the investigation as part of RCMP protocol to have an external agency determine the actions of an officer involved in a shooting.
The involvement of RPS was outlined in testimony from lead investigator, Sergeant Alex Yum.
Yum testified his team of four investigators arrived at the Craik RCMP detachment just after midnight on Sept. 12, 2013.
He said Const. Eric was brought back to the station and allowed to complete his notes.
“We did not interview Const. Eric at this time,” Yum said. “We took detailed pictures of his uniform and his body.”
Yum said he and his investigators arrived in Holdfast by 10 a.m. once the coroner arrived from Saskatoon and stayed for the day before heading back to Regina.
“We did a walkthrough of the scene just so we can visually know what we were dealing with at the time,” Yum said.
Yum testified that Omega Transport removed the body from the scene at 11:40 and transported it to Saskatoon.
The six jurors assigned to the case will potentially provide recommendations on how to avoid similar deaths in the future.
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