The head of the RCMP is denying a claim by a fellow Mountie that she tried to direct the information investigators released as part of their probe into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

That allegation was contained in handwritten notes from Nova Scotia RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell which were released Tuesday as part of the Mass Casualty Commission probe.

The commission is investigating the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that claimed the lives of 22 people — including a pregnant woman — and left several people injured and several homes destroyed. The commission released a report Tuesday on the way the RCMP and government communicated with the public about the incident.

In those notes, Campbell wrote that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was upset that the RCMP in Nova Scotia was not revealing more information about the weapons used because she had promised the federal government — which was considering gun control legislation at the time — that they would raise it.

"As a police officer, and the RCMP commissioner, I would never take actions or decisions that could jeopardize an investigation. I did not interfere in the ongoing investigations into the largest mass shooting in Canadian history," Lucki wrote in a statement released Tuesday evening.

WATCH | Did Ottawa try to interfere in the investigation?

"Several days after the mass shooting, I met with Nova Scotia RCMP colleagues to discuss a number of things. This included the flow of information to RCMP National Headquarters on the investigation and the public release of information. It was a tense discussion, and I regret the way I approached the meeting and the impact it had on those in attendance," she said.

"My need for information should have been better weighed against the seriousness of the circumstances they were experiencing. I should have been more sensitive in my approach. Had I led the meeting differently, these employees would have felt more supported during what I know was an extremely difficult time."

Blair denies pressuring top Mountie

During a fiery round of questioning in the House of Commons Tuesday, Conservative MP Stephen Ellis accused Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair — who was public safety minister at the time — of using the deaths of Canadians to push the Liberals' political agenda.

Blair denied the allegation.

"The commissioner of the RCMP has confirmed for the commission that no such direction or pressure was ever exerted by me or by any other member of this government," he said.

The Conservatives continued to raise the issue during question period Tuesday, and Blair kept replying that the RCMP commissioner's police operations are independent of the government.

"Among the more important work of the Mass Casualty Commission is to examine the important communication challenges that were evident during this tragic event. We look forward to fact-based findings and recommendations for improvement," Blair said.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Blair denied the minister had any involvement in RCMP decisions.

"At no time during his tenure … did Minister Blair or his office direct the RCMP in any of their operational decisions, including during and immediately following the tragic events in April 2020," the statement reads.

"The decision of what information to publicly disclose regarding any investigation, as with all operational matters, is taken solely at law enforcement's discretion."

The commission investigation has not released any notes from Lucki. She is expected to be called as a witness next month. 

"The RCMP continues to be an active participant in the MCC. I will be providing testimony in the coming weeks, and the RCMP will continue to support the Commission's important work," Lucki's statement says.

The Liberals last month tabled Bill C-21, which would impose a national freeze on the purchase, sale, importation and transfer of handguns in Canada.

The Mountie responsible for sharing information with families in the Nova Scotia mass shooting faced angry accusations from the husband of a victim Tuesday, forcing a brief adjournment of the public inquiry into the killings.

During cross-examination of Const. Wayne Bent, Nick Beaton, the spouse of a pregnant woman killed on April 19, 2020, shouted at the officer as he was testifying about why Kristen Beaton's cellphone couldn't be returned 10 days after her murder.

Michael Scott, a lawyer for the majority of the 22 victims' families, was asking Bent whether he recalled telling Beaton the RCMP had to examine his wife's phone to rule out any prior relationship she might have had with the killer.

Bent testified he couldn't recall saying this, and when further questioned, said, "We would have told him [Beaton] 'We were looking at everything.' At that point in time, what was the relationship as to why [the killer] was and wasn't looking at certain people? ... We have to look at everything out there that's a possibility."

Beaton — who was attending the hearings in a Truro hotel — became distraught over Bent's answer and shouted, "I heard you say that to me .... You're under oath."

Commission chairman Michael MacDonald first asked Beaton to sit down, and then added, "That's enough," as others attending started to shout and criticize the proceedings. The chairman then ordered a break.

No manual on how to deal with grieving families

When Bent returned, he clarified that while he may have told Beaton that investigators had to rule out any prior relationship, he didn't mean to suggest any intimate relationship had existed.

During morning testimony, Bent spoke of how there was no policy manual to follow on how to deal with grieving families. He also said he had no formal training in this area before being appointed as the liaison officer but he did his best to help.

A summary of evidence released by the public inquiry noted that Bent contacted a local cleaning and restoration company to clean the residence of Greg and Jamie Blair, who were murdered in Portapique, N.S., after the crime scene was released on May 4, 2020.

• CBC's full coverage of the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting

It also says the constable worked alongside an exhibit custodian to clean the blood from the couples' jewlery before returning it to their family.

According to the summary, Bent also contacted Nick Beaton's car insurance company in April 2020 to raise concerns about the firm selling the car Kristen Beaton was murdered in at public auction. He received assurances it would be sold out of province.

Still, as time passed, some family members grew distrustful of the RCMP and its reluctance to share information, according to the summary released on Tuesday.

Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)

The document says that on June 26, 2020, Beaton attended a meeting at the detachment in Bible Hill for an update from the Mounties and "stated the meeting was unprofessional and he wished that he had brought his lawyer with him."

The daughter and son-in-law of Gina Goulet — who was killed near Shubenacadie, N.S., on April 19 — are quoted as saying "it was frustrating and upsetting," to find a bullet in Goulet's home on May 23, 2020, and the missed evidence, "made them lose their trust in the police."

Ryan and Jon Farrington, the sons of Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn — murdered on April 18 — told the inquiry that during a July 6, 2020 meeting with investigators they "did not receive the answers they were looking for."

During his testimony, Bent defended having just one officer to act as the RCMP go-between for the families of 21 victims in the months after the killings.

"To me it was very important the same message would go out to everybody," he testified. "I'm no expert in this. I learned as I went along. To me it just seemed reasonable to have it done that way."

Const. Heidi Stevenson's family had their own liaison officer assigned to them on April 19, and have praised the RCMP's support and communication after the mass shooting.

The Mass Casualty Commission released its report Tuesday on the way the RCMP and government communicated about the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that left several people injured, homes destroyed and 22 people dead, including a pregnant woman. 

The records show the public statements top Mounties made in the aftermath of the killings did not reflect the latest information they'd been briefed on internally or the information officers had gathered behind the scenes. 

During the first press conference the evening of April 19, 2020, Chief Supt. Chris Leather told reporters "in excess of" 10 people had died and the investigation was ongoing. When asked if he knew the total, Leather said he didn't know and "we're not fully aware of what that total may be."

He said the number could go up and bodies could be found on some of the burned properties. 

But that wasn't the full picture.

Number of victims held back 

The public inquiry found that "internal knowledge shared" with Leather an hour before that press conference "suggested the victim count was at least 17," and that he'd known for hours his officers had discovered at least 14 bodies. 

Lia Scanlan, the civilian director of Nova Scotia RCMP's strategic communications, told the commission in an interview they decided on the number 10 — not based on whether families had been notified, but because they needed to settle on a number and send their speaking notes to be translated into French. 

• CBC's full coverage of the Nova Scotia mass casualty inquiry

She said they knew the body count would change and the plan had been to provide an updated total the following day.

But things didn't go according to plan because that night, the top-ranking Mountie in the country, Commissioner Brenda Lucki, shared information about a higher total with some media outlets — first 13 and then 17.

Death toll had already risen 

The public inquiry has found that by 7 p.m. AT, the RCMP knew Const. Heidi Stevenson and 17 other people were dead and Lucki released that number. 

By 11 p.m., police had discovered all 17 crime scenes and knew there were potentially 22 victims, plus the gunman. Eight of the gunman's victims were discovered in or near structures that burned. 

Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)

The RCMP's investigative log said "confirmation with family members is still needed to determine the exact number of deceased parties," the inquiry found.

Meanwhile, the inconsistencies prompted a flurry of media inquiries to the RCMP.

"It looks awful and I've had to ask my entire team to turn their phones off as a result. Lord help me!!" Scanlan wrote to her counterpart based at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa.

Top Mountie expressed disappointment

On April 28, Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, Leather, Supt. Darren Campbell and Scanlan had a conference call with RCMP headquarters. According to inquiry documents, Lucki expressed disappointment in that phone call about the press briefings carried out by Nova Scotia RCMP.

"In particular, Lucki felt that the Nova Scotia RCMP had disobeyed her instructions to include specific information on the firearms used by the perpetrator," states a summary by the Mass Casualty Commission.

On April 24, Campbell had said the gunman had two semi-automatic handguns and two semi-automatic rifles but declined to elaborate beyond that some may have come from the United States and the Canada Border Services Agency was assisting with the investigation. Leather had previously shared that police did not believe the gunman had a firearms licence. 

Firearms legislation in the works

In his notes from the meeting with Lucki, Campbell said the commissioner was "sad and disappointed" and "had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP, [we] would release this information."

He also noted that Lucki expressed "this was tied to pending gun control legislation that would make officers and the public safer."

After police shot and killed the gunman at a gas station in Enfield, N.S., they found five firearms in his possession, three handguns and two rifles. He obtained three of them in Houlton, Maine. (Mass Casualty Commission)

On May 4, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on some 1,500 makes and models, including the two of the guns used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting. At that time, police had not released the specifics makes and models used in the attacks.

A week after that announcement, the RCMP confirmed three of the shooter's guns had been obtained in the United States, the inquiry's report states.

A CBC News investigation found that at least two people in Maine may have broken U.S. federal laws by helping Wortman obtain two of the guns he used. It appears unlikely they will face charges.

Campbell wrote he had told the RCMP Strategic Communications Unit not to release information about the perpetrator's firearms out of concern that it would jeopardize the ongoing investigation and he stood by his decision.

The inquiry has not released any notes from Lucki. However, the commissioner released a statement Tuesday evening saying she did not interfere in the investigation and regretted her approach to the April 28 meeting. 

"It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil," wrote Lucki. 

She is expected to be called as a witness next month. 

Vague on history of violence

In the first press conference, Leather said the gunman was not known to police. The chief superintendent also said he wasn't aware of a history of violence.

But the inquiry has found that behind the scenes, RCMP officers had already pulled together records related to Gabriel Wortman's past dealings with police officers and others. 

Not long after RCMP officers shot and killed the gunman at a gas station in Enfield, N.S., another Nova Scotia Mountie found Wortman had previously been charged with assaulting a teenager in Dartmouth and received a conditional discharge. The gunman completed probation, but it did not leave him with a criminal record. 

Another officer pulled together a profile summarizing the gunman's interactions with Halifax Regional Police, including a 2010 complaint that he threatened his parents. The profile included mention of Const. Greg Wiley being "a friend" of the gunman and never having seen firearms at his cottage in Portapique. 

The same profile summarized a March 2011 tip that the gunman wanted to "kill a cop" and possibly had guns at his cottage in Portapique.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Oct. 21, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The RCMP would not address that tip until months later after CBC News obtained a copy of the 2011 police bulletin through freedom-of-information legislation. At the time, RCMP said the bulletin had been routinely purged from their system and they didn't have access to it while responding to the mass shooting. 

Earlier interaction with police

Before the deadly confrontation with RCMP officers in Enfield, one of the gunman's most recent interactions with police occurred outside his denture clinic in Dartmouth in February 2020. Halifax officers described a man who became "extremely irate and shaking" because they parked in his business lot. The man refused to remove a chain to let the officers out. 

The inquiry records do not specify whether Leather was briefed on this information or sent the profile by email. 

On April 21, 2020, the RCMP publicly stated the gunman did not have a criminal record and did not include any reference to how he was charged with assault or investigated for making threats or having guns, the inquiry found. 

5 press conferences in April 

In the week that followed, the RCMP held four more press conferences: on April 20, 22, 24 and 28. 

Over the course of that first week, the RCMP was not forthcoming about the number of people injured, the exact time they learned of a shooting in Portapique and the gunman's interactions with Const. Heidi Stevenson prior to her death. 

Blair, Lucki and the RCMP all also released different information about the number of crime scenes. 

RCMP Nova Scotia tweeted the photo of the gunman's replica police cruiser at 10:17 a.m. on April 19, 2020. (RCMP Nova Scotia/Twitter)

After the issues following the first press conference related to the number of victims, which Scanlan said in an email made them look "inconsistent," RCMP communications officials in Ottawa agreed to defer questions to their counterparts in Nova Scotia.

But prior to an afternoon press conference on April 20, Lucki once again released information about the number of victims, saying 18 people plus the gunman were dead. The prime minister echoed that number in a COVID-19 briefing. 

When Leather spoke at the media briefing, he said there were "in excess of 19 victims." He also said they were all adults, though Emily Tuck was 17 years old.

By then, RCMP officers knew her age and had notified Tuck's relatives of her death and that of her parents. The inquiry noted a GoFundMe page publicly stated her age. 

Knew teen was among victims

Leather's own handwritten notes from April 20 referenced a "teenage female" among the confirmed dead. 

Internally, RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Halliday emailed two colleagues asking about the discrepancy and Sgt. Laura Seeley responded that Leather "released what he felt comfortable confirming at the time." 

It's not clear from the commission documents why Leather stuck to referencing more than 19 when the previous night investigators had said 22. 

On April 21, the Nova Scotia RCMP said in a Facebook post there were 22 victims and clarified one victim was 17.

Information about replica cruiser

One of the primary issues raised by families of people killed on the second day of the rampage is why the RCMP did not warn the public earlier that the gunman was driving a replica police cruiser. Three people had mentioned a type of police car being involved within a half-hour of the first 911 call.

During the April 20 press conference, Leather said the mock cruiser was "first reported to us early in the morning [of April 19]" and he never explained where the photo that RCMP released of the gunman's vehicle came from. 

RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell answered questions and updated the public on the investigation during the RCMP's press conferences at the end of April. (Robert Guertin/CBC)

On April 22, Leather clarified that details about the gunman having a police car and uniform "came in their totality to us early in the morning of Sunday [April 19], after a key witness was located and interviewed."

In response to a question about why it took so long to inform the public, Leather said "once that information was compiled, it was immediately tweeted by our communications section." 

That wasn't exactly true as it was nearly three hours after RCMP obtained a photo of the cruiser that they tweeted out a picture warning the public. 

Officers shared intel about decommissioned cars

On April 24, Campbell reiterated that the "critical" details of the car, like its photo, "didn't emerge until the early morning hours of the 19th." 

He also said the officers in charge believed they had accounted for all the gunman's decommissioned cruisers and factored it into the consideration of notifying the public.

During that same briefing, Campbell said the RCMP "had not uncovered any information that the police had knowledge that he had possessed these vehicles or that he possessed a replica police vehicle."

However, the inquiry found that by then Const. Nick Dorrington had shared information about a February 2020 speeding stop during which the gunman mentioned collecting Ford Tauruses.

Another officer, Const. Wayne Tingley, had shared with colleagues that he recalled seeing a marked Taurus with a push bar in Elmsdale on April 17 while he was off duty. 

Campbell also said investigators did not believe former RCMP officers "provided assistance" or gave the gunman any police equipment. That same day in British Columbia, retired officer Chris Wortman told RCMP he had given parts of his red serge uniform to his nephew, information that had also been shared with police by the gunman's spouse. 

An RCMP constable testified Monday that in February 2020 he swore at Gabriel Wortman to get back in his vehicle after pulling him over for speeding and the 51-year-old immediately presented as a "clear threat" by walking back toward the cruiser in Portapique, N.S. 

"The way he approached was very direct, purposeful. He looked infuriated, I had no idea as to who this individual was and why he'd be conducting himself in such a manner," Const. Nick Dorrington told a public inquiry examining the shooting and arson rampage that injured some and left 22 people dead, including a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer.

The exchange "de-escalated quickly," however, once Wortman was back in his vehicle and they had a brief conversation, Dorrington testified.

"He proceeded to tell me that he felt that he was being targeted," and became compliant after Dorrington explained that the stop was in no way prompted by an earlier altercation Wortman had with Halifax Regional Police over a parking dispute, the officer said. 

The gunman then brought up his affection for Ford Tauruses, that he had a number of them and collected police paraphernalia, but Dorrington said the minute-long conversation did not prompt him to have any concerns about public safety. 

• CBC's full coverage of the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass casualty

Dorrington, who spent 17 years in the army before joining the RCMP in 2015, was stationed in Colchester County and was one of the officers who responded to the mass shooting overnight on April 18 and into April 19. That weekend he was on call after working a day shift. 

During Monday's testimony, he was critical of one of his RCMP supervisor's role in the response and said he didn't agree with the decision to only send one team into the section of Portapique where people were killed. He also felt he should have been deployed to chase down the gunman the following morning. 

Const. Nick Dorrington said he took a photo of the gunman's drivers licence and his speed radar as evidence in the event the driver contested a ticket in court. (CBC Photo Illustration)

After learning he'd pulled over the suspect a few months previously, Dorrington shared photos he took of the gunman's licence and the back of the decommissioned Ford Taurus he'd been driving. 

He said the vehicle he'd stopped had faded reflective strips from its time as an RCMP car and that it had a small Canadian flag on the rear by the trunk. 

But, similarly to what several other Mounties have previously told the Mass Casualty Commission, while envisioning what the suspect was driving, he was never picturing a fully marked cruiser like the one the gunman put together and drove during the rampage. 

Frustrated with positioning

Between midnight and 5 a.m., Dorrington and another officer were stationed on Highway 2 screening vehicles four kilometres east of crime scenes in Portapique.

Dorrington testified he "had a challenge" with Sgt. Andy O'Brien's direction to set up there because he felt it was "in contradiction" to his training related to tracking down active shooters.

The public inquiry previously heard that the senior officers overseeing the response were concerned about the possibility of sending more than one team into the "hot zone" where the shooter was last seen due to the possible safety risk of officers being involved in crossfire or a "blue-on-blue" situation where they mistook each other for the suspect. 

The commanders did not have GPS coordinates for general duty constables on the ground. 

But Dorrington said that night he felt the approach should have been to use "as many teams as are necessary to move in locate and neutralize the threat" and agreed with commission counsel Roger Burrill's suggestion that it caused him frustration. 

Issues with supervisor's role

During a behind-the-scenes interview with commission staff, Dorrington was critical of O'Brien's involvement, given that he wasn't on duty and was speaking on the radio from his home.

On Monday, he said that while he has since walked back criticism related to O'Brien's training, he maintained that his involvement made it challenging to know who was in charge. 

"To be receiving direction from Sgt. O'Brien, although I'm sure well intentioned, was creating … additional airtime on the radio, which is problematic. And it created, in my mind, confusion for the chain of command," Dorrington said.

O'Brien and Dorrington worked closely together on Sunday in Portapique. Both remained in the community keeping an eye on the crime scenes. 

Once calls started coming in about new shootings in the Wentworth area, Dorrington said he was "not allowed" to leave to help with the manhunt, despite making his case to O'Brien.

"I felt that given my skill set with previous military training in active theatre [along] with RCMP training, coupled with the fact that I had an unmarked vehicle, that I'd be perhaps the best positioned to leave my current location," he said. 

At one point, Commissioner Leanne Fitch asked Dorrington if he had ever taken or instructed courses in overseeing a critical incident response. He said he had not. 

Dorrington said he was a sergeant in the military so had similar duties to O'Brien's and was in charge of a unit in that capacity. 

Passing along sighting of gunman Sunday morning

While in Portapique on April 19, Dorrington advised his wife to shelter in their basement. He said information gathered from the gunman's spouse, Lisa Banfield, suggested he had a hit list and he was worried that he could be viewed as a target given he was the last Mountie to interact with the gunman.

The officers who interviewed Banfield in the back of an ambulance previously testified at the inquiry and said that while she told them her sister in Dartmouth could be at risk, they did not describe a hit list. 

Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)

After learning of the situation, Dorrington's wife called a friend who happened to notice a marked RCMP cruiser driving south toward the Halifax area on a secondary highway. Dorrington tried to figure out if an actual cruiser was in the area and then radioed to his colleagues after the possible sighting. 

There was a lot of radio chatter at the time and Dorrington testified he felt there "was a significant delay" in the distribution of his message, which he felt was "pertinent and of high priority." 

Felt equipment was insufficient 

Equipment and training was another area with which Dorrington took issue. 

He said given that the RCMP predominantly polices rural parts of Canada, more active shooter training should be done outside with more of it focused on night-time scenarios. 

Night vision goggles or hand-held devices to identify heat sources would also be helpful, he said, so that general duty officers wouldn't have to wait for specialized resources like the emergency response team during a crisis. 

Lawyer Sandra McCulloch, who represents many family members of people who were killed, asked Dorrington about comments he'd previously made to the inquiry about having had requests related to officer safety denied by a detachment commander prior to April 2020. 

Those requests included a chair to restrain people who could be a physical risk to themselves or others at the detachment, Dorrington said. 

He also requested rotatable spotlights for vehicles that he said would help illuminate long driveways and alleys better than the fixed lights on the lightbars on cruisers that only move when a vehicle does. 

A request for push bars on patrol vehicles — which he said would be cheaper than repairing damage to vehicles — was denied about a week before two of the detachment's cruisers were written off after one backed into another, he said.

Const. Vicki Colford, who has since retired, answered questions in a sworn affidavit entered as a Mass Casualty Commission exhibit earlier this month. Her statement is shedding light on how police missed a key piece of information about a possible escape route the gunman is believed to have used to evade police stationed less than a kilometre away.

On April 18, 2020, Colford was the fourth RCMP officer to arrive the night a gunman killed 13 neighbours and torched several homes. Family members of people killed the following morning have questioned why police did not do more to seal off the community and why it took so long to realize the gunman could have driven out on a private road bordering a blueberry field.

The public inquiry examining the tragedy went over surveillance footage, spoke to witnesses and determined the gunman most likely drove along the field and out onto Highway 2 a few hundred metres from the main entrance between 10:41 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. AT.

Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)

By the time Colford pulled up around 10:32 p.m., two officers had gone into the community on foot. After learning a third would join them, she decided to check vehicles at the entrance and ensure Andrew and Katie MacDonald, who had been shot at, got medical attention.

At 10:48 p.m., Colford said on her police radio: "If you guys want to have a look at the map, we're being told there's a road, kind of a road that someone could come out, before here. Ah, if they know the roads well."

But at least three senior officers overseeing the response testified they never heard her transmission and Colford herself said she didn't realize she made it.

'No recollection' of radio transmission

It wasn't until reviewing inquiry documents that she learned of it and had "no recollection" of being told about a back exit or if the woman she spoke with identified the road connected to it, Colford wrote in an affidavit.

The MacDonalds left in separate ambulances and Colford stayed with Katie MacDonald for about 45 minutes.

"Katie MacDonald was very upset and not speaking clearly. I was trying to keep her calm while monitoring our surroundings for the threat," she said.

   An aerial map of Portapique from May 2020 with street names added by the Mass Casualty Commission. (Mass Casualty Commission)

Her focus was on "trying to keep my head on a swivel to watch and be aware" amid the nearby fires, shots fired and the active shooter on the loose, Colford stated.

She said her assumption — based on reading the transcript — was that she made the broadcast to pass new information to the risk manager overseeing the response and anyone else that was part of it.

She said most of her communications that night happened over the radio, but she did also speak with senior officers by phone.

Worried about ambush, screening vehicles

Another Portapique resident, Harlan Rushton, told the commission he spoke to a female Mountie on his way out, telling her something along the lines of, "You know there's another way out," and the officer agreed.

Colford told the commission she didn't have any memory of that exchange but checked about 10 vehicles looking for signs of the gunman, weapons, gas cans and anything suspicious.

   An RCMP officer talks with a local resident before escorting them home at a roadblock in Portapique on April 22, 2020. The night of April 18, Const. Vicki Colford was stationed at the entrance to Portapique Beach Road. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

Her goal, she explained, was to get people out quickly so the exchanges only lasted a few seconds. She said she scanned the back of trucks and hatchbacks and got at least one driver to pop their trunk.

"I had no idea where the perpetrator was… The possibility of ambush was always on my mind," she wrote.

"Every time a vehicle was leaving, it diverted my attention from my surroundings and I didn't want anyone to get shot at while stopped."

Not required to testify 

Lawyers representing families of victims had requested that Colford appear as a witness and though the commissioners initially said they would subpoena her, they later granted Colford an accommodation that she could provide a written statement instead of oral testimony.

The National Police Federation had made the request and submitted confidential personal information that the commissioners considered.

Lawyers representing participants were able to submit the questions they had for Colford, including requests to clarify statements she previously made to the RCMP during an interview a few days after the shootings. She answered 63 questions posed by the commission.

Felt like 'sitting duck'

Colford and Cpl. Natasha Jamieson spent most of the night stationed near the mailboxes at the top of Portapique Road. While positioned around a colleague's SUV, they tried to provide each other with cover — Colford with a shotgun and Jamieson with her service pistol.

Neither officer had completed carbine training.

"I really felt very much like a sitting duck in that I couldn't see much beyond my immediate area due to lack of street lights," Colford told the commission.

Colford had previously provided back up to a colleague — Const. Nick Dorrington — who pulled the gunman over for speeding in February 2020 but had no other prior interactions with him and didn't know the community that well.

Dorrington is scheduled to testify at the inquiry on Monday.