Officer in charge tells inquest everything possible was done to save B.C. hostage
The officer in charge when police in Surrey, B.C., killed a hostage taker and the woman he was holding says he believes he did everything possible to save her.
RCMP Insp. Blair White told a coroner's inquest on Wednesday the suspect, Randy Crosson, gave officers a deadline on when he would kill Nona McEwan, and a mental-health professional working with police believed the man wanted to die.
White took the jury through police actions during the nine-hour standoff that dragged into the early morning hours of March 29, 2019.
The RCMP emergency response team was in charge of the scene around the house after police received reports that Crosson was inside with a gun.
An armoured vehicle was parked on the home's front lawn so officers could use a loud speaker to speak with Crosson.
White said the suspect pointed a pistol out the window and police heard what they thought was a bear banger tossed in their direction, he said.
Efforts to get Crosson to speak to police were unsuccessful, White said.
He told the jury the “mission changed” from officers wanting to check on McEwan and arrest Crosson on an outstanding warrant to wanting them both out of the house and arresting Crosson on new charges.
Crosson called 911, White said, telling the operator to “tell those pigs to leave, leave my house or I'll come out and shoot them.”
He said police broke down the front door of the house so a robot could enter to record sound and video.
Just before 7 a.m. the robot heard Crosson say “you have an hour or I'm going to kill her,” White testified.
White said he approved a plan to use explosives to enter through a door and window of a bedroom where they believed Crosson was holding McEwan.
“I did everything I believe that I could have under those circumstances to make the right decisions at the right time for the right reasons with the right resources and assets in place. ”
He said he heard multiple gunshots being fired from what sounded like two different calibre weapons and heard over the radio that the suspect was dead and the hostage had been rescued but was in critical condition.
“There's nothing worse for a critical incident commander to hear what I heard that day. To go from some form of an elation, hearing that … the victim had been rescued, and then receiving news a short time later from the hospital that that wasn't the case that she was deceased,” he said.
“It's heart wrenching. And I feel for the family, feel for the members, I feel for the neighbourhood.”
He said once he launches a plan it is out of his hands and he had hope that Crosson would do the right thing instead of the “absolutely worse thing possible.”
“At the very end, the only one that could have changed the narrative is the subject,” he said.
“They created the circumstances, and they finished the circumstances and unfortunately every opportunity we gave them to stop was not acknowledged,” he said of Crosson.
A report from the province's police watchdog following the deaths cleared police of wrongdoing and said Crosson held McEwan in front of him as a shield against police bullets.
Coroner's juries do not place blame but have the option to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Speaker kicks Poilievre out of Commons over unparliamentary comments
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period today.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.