MELFORT — Members of the Melfort RCMP Detachment gave their testimony on Jan. 17, the third day of a coroner’s inquest into the 11 deaths on James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon on Sept. 2022.
First to testify was current S/Sgt Ryan Case of the Melfort RCMP Detachment. He explained how the detachment offers service to 3,000 square kilometres - including the JSCN. Case also noted the full complement of the Melfort Detachment consists of 16 members including himself as commander, two corporals and 13 constables. While 24-hour police service is not standard practice, there are two 10-hours shifts with members on call during the 4-8 a.m. space where nobody is in the office.
“Our members have a lot on their plate,” said Case in response to a question from Timothy Hawryluk, representing Coroner’s Counsel, about workload at the Melfort Detachment. “Their workload is on the higher end in the grand scheme.”
He spoke of members not having a lot of extra time to extend beyond what is required of them on a daily basis.
Keith Brown, a lawyer representing the JSCN, questioned Case about whether Melfort would benefit from 24-hour service. The answer came down to simply the number of bodies available.
“You will never find a commander that says, ‘I don’t want any more officers at my detachment’,” Case replied, adding “the work we could do would be tremendous.”
Hawryluk enquired about the caseload in Melfort, to which Case noted around 6,600 files generated over 2023. Calls in the City of Melfort make up 27 per cent of those files with the JSCN being the next largest at about 10 per cent. Smaller communities rank from two to three per cent of calls and Rural Municipalities make up one per cent of less of calls.
Combatting the drug crisis was a theme that emerged during the inquest, recurring again when Hawryluk approached the topic in a line of questioning.
“The trade of narcotics and the use of is a concern not only for the community of James Smith, but every community and rural area that we that we police and that is an unfortunate set of facts,” Case said. “But every community that we police within our detachment has expressed interest at one level or another or concern that there are people within their communities that are involved in that type of stuff.”
Hawryluk asked about a solution going forward and the level of resources the detachment has to deal with the scourge of illegal drugs.
“We as the police, we’re one part in a bigger picture,” Case said. “Drug investigations themselves are complex, and they take a lot of time. They're complex, there's a lot of legal hurdles to get over in order to ultimately have somebody put in custody as a result of drug trafficking, if that's what it turns out to be. But it takes up a lot of time. It's a lot of man hours. And on top of what when any type of investigation that we do undertake, we have many others that we need to balance at the same time.”
Another theme throughout the inquest revolved around communication with the JSCN security and a possible call for a dedicated police service in the community. Case mentioned having a working relationship with the JSCN security. A former member of that team echoed Case’s comments about facing a challenging workload.
“It's been a real challenge in the past year and a half to do our work and keep our community safe,” said Stewart Head. “We're overwhelmed. We do everything from mental health, addictions, family violence and it's not getting any easier.”
Head noted that JSCN security works closely with Melfort RCMP, but pointed to more guidance needed from leadership in the community.
One point that family members raised was that of how warrants are dealt with, specifically as related to Myles Sanderson, who was confirmed as acting alone in the mass stabbings.
“It's like Myles wasn’t very high on the priorities of being apprehended,” said Darryl Burns, representing the family of the late Lydia Gloria Burns. A warrant was issued for Myles being unlawfully at large by the Saskatoon Police Service in the early summer of 2022.
“We would deal with it no differently than if we issued in ourselves,” replied Case, adding that there are many warrants the Melfort Detachment are aware of at the moment.
Currently, there are 88 wanted individuals in the Melfort Detachment area alone, which Case noted 75 per cent are criminal in nature with the rest being provincial charges.
The afternoon heard gripping testimony from Cst. Tanner Maynard, one of the first responding officers from Melfort Detachment to the JSCN. At points, Maynard was visibly shaken, reliving horrific moments as he recalled his actions on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022.
“I checked him for pulse, signs of breathing and I noted neither,” Maynard described of finding Thomas Burns, who was pinned between two vehicles and stabbed. “He was basically slumped over his upper, I would say shoulders and head and arms were slumped over the side of the vehicle, again, that I noticed those same signs of as if the greyness was sitting into his skin as if there was no blood flow. There were no signs of life at that point to him.”
When asked by Hawryluk if the JSCN attacks had been his first experience in a mass fatality situation, Maynard replied it was not - he had also been involved in the Broncos bus crash near Arborfield in 2018.
Community reaction
When asked what the inquest has been like so far, Head summed up with “heartbreaking.”
“The heartbreaking stories that we, our loved ones went through; our survivors, the injured and the other trauma that witnesses witnessed,” he said. “That's pretty horrifying and our community is broken. And it's been broken for about a year now. And it's hard, though, to get a grasp on things at times.”
Head also expressed his frustration of not being heard during proceedings.
“Nobody wants to answer my questions, they’re not being answered properly,” he said. “It's like they're passing the buck.”
Burns had similar sentiments, adding that the process feels ‘rushed.’
“Some of it has been hard to listen to,” said Burns. Also, some of it brings back a lot of anger on what our community’s like and how things are remaining the same, even though we lost 15 band members in the last five years.”
“One of the things that I look at this investigation is it's so rushed,” Burns continued. “There’s a lot of stuff there that is missing, and was in rushed because of the media? The justice system is never ever been kind to us Native people. So do we have faith in this justice system? Do we have faith in this? I don't think we do. I don’t think we do at all because history to us has been very unjust.”
Timeline focus of second day
Testimony from S/Sgt Robin Zentner continued on the second day of the inquest into the mass murder at the James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022. Zentner walked through the timeline minute-by-minute while under examination by Coroner Council Timothy Hawryluk.
In his testimony during the first day of the inquest in Melfort Zentner introduced a powerpoint presentation that detailed police response to the event. This presentation would essentially make up the culmination of the police investigation, concluding with the deaths of all 11 victims. The content focussed on events leading up to the mass murder including brothers Myles and Damien Sanderson distributing drugs through the JSCN, physical altercations and messages involving the two men.
The second day of Zentner’s testimony resumed from the point of the murders taking place, detailing the events leading up to each attack.
“Prior to the mass casualty events that occurred on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022, Myles Sanderson was known by community members to be in and around the James Smith Cree Nation, to be wanted by the police, to have engaged in illegal activities - specifically the sale of drugs - as well as to have committed at least three assaults on three different individuals,” Zentner said. “At no time between Sept. 1, 2022 and Sep. 4, 2022 was the RCMP contacted about the presence or activities of Myles Sanderson.”
The inquest heard that Damien was the first homicide victim as Myles stabbed his brother repeatedly while driving.
“After being stabbed, Damien fled from the Caravan, dropping his blood-stained shirt behind on the road as he ran into the grass and bushes,” Zentner said, noting that he believes Myles stabbed Damien after an event moments earlier at the Martin Moostoos residence. The brothers had entered the home with Myles attacking Moostoos, then Damien intervened in an effort to calm his brother down.
Damien’s body was not discovered until Sept. 5 as dense foliage made it difficult to see him from the road. An aerial photo of the location was displayed in the Kerry Vicar Centre Auditorium (after those in attendance were cautioned to the possibly triggering nature of the image), his location appearing quite obvious from above. However, other images from the road proved it would be impossible to find the man at that perspective. The only clue that would suggest Damien could be in the area was the discarded shirt.
Myles would go on to obtain a total of five vehicles, alternating travel between driving and on foot to perpetuate his attacks. In some cases, he returned to homes previously attacked, then ultimately left JSCN for Kinistino and then Weldon to commit his final murder. In the wake, 11 people were dead, 17 injured and a community wrecked with trauma.
“It was quite a complex set of circumstances and movements throughout the community,” Zentner said of Myles’ journey.
Drugs and gangs motivate
“In a few of the cases that you've talked about so far, there seems to be a common denominator of some drug trade involved,” Hawryluk commented.
“Yes, I would say that's fair; that there's definitely drug conversations and drug talk through a variety of the messaging from some of the people involved,” replied Zentner.
In addition, some of the attacks were also related to gang activity as Zentner noted Myles had a dislike for the Terror Squad gang with members represented in JSCN.
“There's nothing to say that any of the attacks were specifically gang directed or gang organized or anything like that,” said Zentner. “Obviously, it is part of the investigation… but there's definitely indicators in those reports that Myles had it out for anybody that he believed could be tied or associated to the Terror Squad.”
Police investigation confirmed that Myles acted alone in the murders and was unassisted in perpetuating the tragic event. Aside from the interaction with Moostoos when Damien was with Myles, Zentner stated “investigators found no evidence anyone else involved or provided assistance to Myles Sanderson in any way.”
As a major component of the inquest is to seek recommendations on how to prevent similar events from occurring, Hawryluk posed the question of what can be improved.
“This is one of the worst tragedies we have experienced here in the province,” Zentner said. “I have spent a lot of time thinking about it for sure.”
He pointed to the “warning signs” - dark themes in the messages especially from Damien - that were perhaps missed by recipients in the seriousness of the content.
“The key thing I want to focus on is drugs and crime,” said Zentner. “Those types of issues that plague communities in our province are not an easy issue for many of our communities to battle through.”
Communication with communities is another area Zentner identified as important.
“It’s not a situation that police can come in and solve everything,” he said, adding it takes a variety of agencies and community leaders to work together in addressing drugs and gangs.
Keith Brown, one of the lawyers representing the JSCN at the table, asked Zentner why community members may be reluctant to call police, pointing to a few incidences in the powerpoint where such actions were noted. Sometimes reporting specific individuals to police may affect access to drugs, while others fear violent retribution to themselves or others.
“In some cases, depending on community and specific individuals, some members may have distrust or dislike of police - especially if they are involved in the criminal element themselves,” Zentner explained.
Gang association is another motivation not to involve law enforcement, rather adopting a ‘taking matters into their own hands’ attitude. In other situations where many people witness an event, it’s simply a matter of thinking someone else will call.
Emergency crew response
In under an hour from the initial response of Melfort RCMP members, the first of 11 emergency alerts was issued. Given the vast amount of logistics involved, Zentner called the ability to issue and emergency alert just after 7 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022 a “‘fairly quick timeframe, all things considered.”
Zentner praised the actions of emergency personnel who treated injured people at the band office on JSCN. A triage centre was set up at the office after the mass murder, which was a location that could be secured and a safe place for those injured to seek treatment.
“Every person who made it to band office where triage was set up survived this event,” Zentner said, adding that those who passed away never made it from the scenes where they were attacked.
Given general tensions with RCMP, Brown wondered if having a dedicated police force would be beneficial.
“Do you think a First Nation running its own police service could have benefits for something like identifying or tracking down suspects that are thought to be in the community?” he asked.
“Well, I think definitely, the community members know who lives in the community,” Zentner replied. “They recognize the vehicles of the people that live there, they know when a new or strange vehicle is in a community or not. So whether or not it's a formal police service, I know as well that the James Smith community has security, and I know that security has been extremely helpful and beneficial to the RCMP.”
“I don't think it necessarily has to be a formal police service, but I think having those eyes and ears in the community are extremely beneficial,” he concluded.
The first day
The first day of an inquest into the death of 11 people on Sept. 4, 2022 at the hands of Myles Sanderson began in Melfort on Jan. 15. The Kerry Vickar Centre became a large courtroom as many family members and general public filled the gallery to witness proceedings. Those entering the auditorium passed by memorial 8x10 framed photos of Sanderson’s victims, illuminated by tea-light candles in the darkened corridor.
The September long weekend of 2022 had global attention focussed on the evolving situation in east-central Saskatchewan as conflicting reports about Myles and Damian Sanderson emerged. Fear gripped many across the province, with unverified reports that the brothers had locations such as Regina in mind during a frenzied mass murder event the likes never before seen in this province. Ultimately, the brothers did not leave the east-central region.
Chief Coroner Clive Weighill met with reporters before proceedings began, stressing the historical importance of the event.
“We’ve never held an inquest of this size before in the province; I don’t think in Canada, really, has for a coroner’s inquest,” he said. “It’s been put together very, very quickly. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated and then did a thorough job. We had to wait for all that investigative information to come in so we could do our disclosure to the people that have standing and then have everything ready for for today.”
Weighill spent a large amount of time with family members of those who were killed by Sanderson, noting that since there will be no legal trial, this inquest forms one way for those members to obtain verified details.
“I’ve spent the last year and a half talking to the family. It’s been really heartfelt, to listen to the stories, to see the pain and try to help the community through this,” Weighill said. “This is the only way that the families in the public can hear exactly what happened and a true public factual account of what happened.”
He added details of the inquest will include the events leading up to the police standoff with Sanderson, however the interaction itself will not be included.
“You will not hear a lot of the details into the passing of Myles Sanderson. That will be a separate inquest,” Weighill said, adding that the inquest regarding Sanderson is scheduled to take place in Saskatoon starting Feb. 26. In Saskatchewan, a coroner’s inquest is mandatory for any in-custody death.
Hal Eagletail of the Tsuu T’ina First Nation opened the inquest with a blessing.
“We ask that we have strong protection and humble hearts and forgiving hearts to continue to hear on Mother Earth after there’s such a tragedy,” Eagletail said. “The blessings of the buffalo spirit is amongst us here.”
Jury selection flowed into the afternoon, drawing from an initial pool of approximately 150 people. Typically, a coroner’s inquest will include six people, but Coroner Blaine Beaven directed that eight jurors be selected; two being alternates. After around two hours of vetting potential jurors, a team of six men and three women made up the table.
Bevan anticipated the entire proceedings would take approximately 12 to 15 days, hearing from 31 witnesses providing testimony. In his opening comments, Beavan explained the purpose of a coroner’s inquest, noting it “is a public inquiry designed to serve a number of functions.”
Firstly, the inquest is seeking to confirm the identity of the deceased individuals and “determine how when, where and by what means that death occurred.” A secondary purpose is to inform the public of the circumstances surrounding the deaths, bringing dangerous practices to light and to possibly make recommendations on how to avoid preventable deaths.
“It is important to note that this inquest is not a trial and I’m not a judge,” Bevan said. “An inquest is not a forum for conducting a wide ranging public inquiry, nor can an inquest address or resolve any civil disputes. This process is not adversarial and there is no defendant and no plaintiff.”
Beavan also granted standing to the James Smith Cree Nation; the Saskatchewan Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety; the RCMP; Correctional Service of Canada; the Parole Board of Canada and family members of the deceased.
