Officer's testimony at N.S. shooting inquiry indicates lessons for RCMP: experts

For those who knew murder victim Susie Butlin, Const. Greg Wiley's testimony to the Mass Casualty Commission on Tuesday hit home.

Wiley told the Commission in his remote video testimony that his phone call with the Tatamagouche, N.S., grandmother was “burned in his memory” after her killing in 2017.

He described in detail the conversation he had with her when she phoned the Bible Hill RCMP detachment about harassment from the man who would later kill her.

Wiley says he offered to help Butlin address the man’s behaviour.

“I offered to even go and visit the perpetrator in person,” he said. “She declined ... and she just said it would likely stir him up or make matters worse.”

Linda MacDonald, an expert in femicide and gender-based violence based in Truro, knew Susie Butlin, and says Wiley’s testimony is telling of larger problems in the RCMP.

In her opinion, Wiley shouldn’t have left the “last word” on what should be done in the matter with the very woman dealing with male harassment and intimidation.

“I mean when a person calls, they're desperate, they're not thinking straight,” says MacDonald, “I think with his police wisdom he could have intervened in a very different way.”

But when it came to any charges, Wiley told the Commission the texts Butlin read to him over the phone weren't enough to constitute ‘harassing communications,’ even though she had previously lodged a complaint against the man for sexual assault and applied for a peace bond against him.

Wiley admitted he didn't take Butlin's official statement at the time, or obtain copies of the harassing texts. His notes did not detail the conversation.

For Jeanne Sarson, who works alongside MacDonald in issues around violence against women, Wiley’s admission illustrates the need for police to improve tracking of gender-based violence.

“If there had of been a red flag warning (about the perpetrator) then maybe Const. Wiley may have acted differently. We don't know,” says Sarson.

It’s one of the reasons why MacDonald is pushing to have femicide -- the killing of women by men – a separate and distinct charge under the Criminal Code.

She also believes the situation shows the need for RCMP to be held accountable in Butlin’s case and others, “beyond education.”

During Wiley’s testimony, participant lawyer Tara Miller, questioned the officer about his lack of note-taking – both in the Butlin case, and in the case of several instances involving his visits with Gabriel Wortman as a “community contact,” several years before Wortman would go on to murder 22 Nova Scotians in April 2020.

“We know and we’ve had evidence that notes are the core foundation of investigation for any police service, let alone the RCMP,” says Miller. “We’ve heard evidence that in some cases, notes don’t exist, they’re insufficient, and in other cases they’re not preserved.”

“As we look forward in terms of crafting recommendations,” says Miller, “one of the things is the implementation of a threat assessment individual (for the RCMP)…for that to be effective, they need to have credible intelligence to rely on, and the notetaking is a very key foundation of that.”

As with other lawyers at the inquiry representing the families of those killed, Miller says her client, a family member of Kristen Beaton, was also concerned about the ban placed by the commission on broadcasting Wiley’s testimony in audio or video form.

“And then, the companion criminal charges pending if anybody is to breach it, including family members,” adds Miller,” that leaves not a good taste in people's mouths.”

Dalhousie University Professor Emeritus of Law Wayne MacKay says the Commissioners’ decision lacks detail.

“There may be good reasons of privacy and other issues as to why they have not, but I think that’s unfortunate because there’s a history, particularly with the victims’ families and the lawyers, about decisions being made and not being fully explained and understood.”

“Not suggesting that there is any bias in that direction,” he adds, “But given the whole background of this…I think that doesn’t help, that once again they have a high level accommodation being made for somebody who was a member of the RCMP.”