The Canadian police must be reformed in depth and review their working methods, estimated Thursday March 30 the commission of inquiry which analyzed the police failures during the massacre of 22 people in April 2020 in the east of the country.
In a 3,000-page report, 130 recommendations are made in particular to improve collaboration between police services, but also to review communication with the population and strengthen regulations on firearms.
Disguised as a police officer and traveling in a fake police car, Gabriel Wortman, a 51-year-old dental technician, had sown death for two days in a quiet region of Nova Scotia (east) after attacking his wife.
He had been shot dead by the police after a manhunt lasting more than 12 hours.
"There were many warning signs of the violence of the author of the crimes and many missed opportunities to intervene"
, deplores the commission of inquiry.
Gabriel Wortman illegally possessed several firearms, and exhibited
"violent and intimidating behavior"
, especially towards his wife, which should have been
"many red flags"
.
A
“complete overhaul of police training”
The report also deplores the lack of reflection on the part of the police on their failures during their intervention at the time of the murders.
"More than two years after the event, the police leadership has done little to assess its response to the shooting, the deadliest in Canadian history," said the commission
.
The latter considers that a
"complete overhaul of police training"
is necessary.
The report laments that the police did not use an alert system to warn the population that a shooter was on the loose, so that the public could
"take measures to better protect themselves"
.
The report notably criticizes the police for having underestimated the facts from the outset by declaring in a Twitter message that they were investigating a
“complaint concerning firearms”
.
This message
“in no way reflected the threat presented by the author at the time
,” according to the report.
The police did not send another message until the next morning.