4:45
The final part of RCMP Superintendent Devin Pugh’s testimony would see the timeline of Sanderson’s medical distress and death after being taken into police custody. As well Pugh outlined the RCMP manhunt in the days between the mass casualty event on September 4 and the report of the stolen Chevrolet Avalanche and Sanderson’s arrest on September 7.
About 9 minutes after Sanderson’s arrest at 3:30 p.m. paramedics would arrive on scene and start performing life saving methods. Sanderson would than be transported to RUH in Saskatoon where he was declared deceased at 4:39 p.m.
The RCMP Superintendent would then go over the investigation in the days between the mass casualty event on September 4 and reports of Myles Sanderson stealing a Chevrolet Avalanche and eventual arrest on September 7.
Pugh outlined the hundreds of calls for service the RCMP received related to the manhunt for Myles Sanderson from September 4-7, 2022. He also spoke on the nearly 3,000 other calls during that time that constituted Saskatchewan RCMP’s regular day to day duties. Pugh says while these calls had to be undertaken, priority was given to the apprehension of Sanderson.
Over 60 tips would come in to the RCMP about the location of Myles Sanderson during the manhunt with hundreds more coming in about the sighting of a Nissan Rogue. The location tips would be from communities across western Canada.
Every tip would be followed up by local law enforcement.
Pugh spoke on the tip of a Nissan Rogue sighting in Regina that initially seemed credible. Saskatchewan RCMP would issue an emergency alert as a result; however, follow-up investigation determined the sighting was false and they do not believe Myles Sanderson was ever in Regina.
At one point, The FBI reached out to the Saskatchewan RCMP to offer help in the manhunt.
Pugh outlined the many searches of locations investigators thought Myles Sanderson may have been hiding. Video was played of a search of a remote residence authorities thought Sanderson may be hiding. The search would not be material in finding Sanderson.
Three airplanes and a helicopter were deployed in the search.
Pugh’s PowerPoint also detailed the discovery of the Nissan Rogue Sanderson left James Smith Cree Nation in on September 4. Pugh would show an image of a cluster of Sanderson sightings near Crystal Springs on September 4 and 5. Eventually showing the location of the theft of the white Chevrolet Avalanche on September 7.
The RCMP presentation would detail several witnesses who alleged to see Myles Sanderson in the area. RCMP officers would attend to every area, but would be unable to locate Sanderson in their subsequent searches.
After Sanderson’s arrest, police would locate what they believe to be a “camp” made by Sanderson in the Crystal Springs area. Food and beverage containers along with bedding were located in the area. These items were believed to be stolen from the garage of the woman whose Chevrolet Avalanche Sanderson would eventually steal. Myles Sanderson’s fingerprints would be found on a freezer in the garage along with a footwear impression matching Sanderson’s footwear at his death.
In summary, the RCMP determined between September 4-7, 2022, Myles Sanderson never left the Wakaw/Crystal Springs area.
On behalf of the Sanderson family, Hawryluk asked why the family of Myles Sanderson was not given access to the body. Pugh says it is common practice for family not to be given access to the body prior to an autopsy in an investigation of this scale as there would be concerns for evidence to be tarnished.
Myles Sanderson’s uncle Eddie Head asked Pugh if Myles Sanderson was a threat to Richard Sanderson during their interaction on One Arrow First Nation. Pugh says he did not see any evidence that Richard was threatened by Myles.
Lawyers for the Saskatchewan RCMP asked Pugh about some of the informational gaps in the RCMP’s investigation. Pugh agreed there were gaps in what they know – including the areas Sanderson traveled in the Crystal Springs area and the route he took to One Arrow First Nation after he stole the Avalanche.
Pugh would compare the manhunt to the manhunt of Curt Dagenais in the Spirtwood area in 2006. Dagenais killed two RCMP officers and lead authorities on a multiple day manhunt in the area. However, Pugh would say the resources used during the manhunt for Myles Sanderson were greater.
It was also Pugh’s understanding that the woman whose Chevrolet Avalanche was stolen was threatened at knife point by Myles Sanderson and he understands she still struggles with the trauma of that event to this day.
When speaking of the pursuit Sanderson led RCMP officers on the wrong side of Highway 11, Pugh says he has never seen anything like that in his life.
Pugh would offer one recommendation for the jury to consider and that would be more training for RCMP officers for disabling of suspect vehicles during high-speed chases.
The inquest then concluded for the day. It is set to resume Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
3:00
Monday afternoon saw more testimony from RCMP Superintendent Devin Pugh.
Pugh went through an 88-page PowerPoint presentation with the inquest detailing the timeline of the manhunt of Myles Sanderson, his apprehension and death.
Monday morning’s testimony stopped when officers were in pursuit of Sanderson after he stole a vehicle in a rural area near Wakaw.
The next portion of the presentation detailed Sanderson’s arrival on the One Arrow First Nation around 2:30 pm in the stolen white Chevrolet Avalanche. He parked the vehicle on a back road and knocked on the door of a residence and spoke to Richard Sanderson. Myles asked him for a ride to the city and offered to pay $250. Richard told Myles he did not have a working vehicle, so Myles left. Richard Sanderson had known Myles Sanderson, but they were not related.
At 2:58 p.m., Richard Sanderson reported to the RCMP that Myles Sanderson was at his residence. The audio of that call was played for the inquest.
Pugh spoke on his belief it was vital the RCMP informed the public that Sanderson was believed to be in a 2008 white Chevrolet Avalanche.
At this point, the inquest played another call from Richard Sanderson that informs RCMP that Myles Sanderson had returned to One Arrow First Nation in the Avalanche and was driving toward the river line. Pugh says the information from Richard Sanderson was critical in the pursuit. Pugh says at this point the timeline is 20 minutes away from the arrest of Myles Sanderson.
The inquest then played more radio chatter from the RCMP in their pursuit of Sanderson as officers get closer to apprehending him.
Pugh also spoke on the location data the RCMP was receiving from the cellphone of the owner of the stolen Avalanche. The phone was in the vehicle when Sanderson stole it. The phone was pinging off nearby towers giving law enforcement an idea on the vehicle’s location.
RCMP officers would locate the white Avalanche on Highway 312 moving westbound toward Rosthern. However, at this time Sanderson was being followed by an unmarked police vehicle. The RCMP chose not to pull over the vehicle until more RCMP officers could arrive. Pugh detailed the decisions by RCMP during this time to safely stop Sanderson. There was discussion of a spike belt being deployed, but Pugh says he felt they did not have the resources in place at the time for it to be a viable option.
Officers then aimed to cut off Sanderson at the intersection of Highway 11 and 312 at Rosthern. Sanderson would refuse to stop for police and turn northbound on Highway 11 toward Warman driving on the wrong side of the road. Pugh believed Sanderson imposed an extreme risk to the safety of the public, so officers continued their chase.
The command was then given to take out Sanderson with a ramming method to disable the white Avalanche. Pugh says the situation met the criteria to move forward with this method. According to the RCMP, this was done to stop further risk to the public. However, Pugh says the risk of ramming a suspect vehicle with a police vehicle at high speeds is a very high-risk action. The risk would include death or injury to Sanderson and the possible injury and death of a police officer. Pugh described it as one of the “heaviest” decisions of his career.
The pursuit would last around 15 kilometres where an officer would make contact with the Avalanche forcing it off the road into the ditch along Highway 11 near Hague.
Myles Sanderson is arrested at around 3:30 pm.
The inquest then showed dash cam footage from three different RCMP vehicles of the final pursuit and the ramming of Sanderson’s vehicle off the highway. The video showed multiple moments of on-coming traffic taking evasive action to avoid the pursuit. There were some moments where it appears Sanderson is very close to striking other vehicles on the road. Officers had to consider other vehicles on the road when aiming to disable Sanderson’s vehicle. One of the officers would report on video that she believes Sanderson was starting to aim at on-coming traffic. Sanderson would then cross the centre ditch and jump to the other side of the highway. This made it easier for officers to ram Sanderson off the road in a safer manner. RCMP Cst. Heidi Marshall would perform a tactical vehicle immobilization technique to force Sanderson’s vehicle into the ditch. After disabling Sanderson’s vehicle, officers would approach the vehicle with guns drawn yelling commands as the arrest was considered high-risk. Sanderson would put his hands up being taken into custody. The video would stop with one officer saying “Myles you’re under arrest.”
Some members of the public became emotional during the playing of this video and exited the inquest.
Coroner’s counsel Tim Hawryluk says the conclusion of the video will be played on Tuesday during the testimony from the investigating officer from the Saskatoon Police Service.
The inquest then adjourned for an afternoon break.
During the adjournment James Smith Cree Nation chief spoke with reporters. Burns said he was emotional watching the video in the inquest.
“Looking at it, emotionally and hurt. A clever way of not facing our people. A cowardly way,” said Burns. “The way I wanted to see this whole outcome is to face the people, in that perspective. Not, going down where you take a drug and all of a sudden, you know what I mean.”
Burns also continued his calls for a naitonal inquiry into the tragedy.
12:30
The first witness at the inquest was RCMP Superintendent Devin Pugh.
Coroner’s Councel Tim Hawryluk spoke with Pugh about his 25 years of service in the RCMP and his rank within the provincial RCMP. According to Pugh he is the third highest ranking RCMP officer in Saskatchewan.
Pugh was deployed as the Critical Incident Commander in the apprehension of Myles Sanderson.
Hawryluk reminded Pugh and the jury that this inquest is not addressing the homicides of the mass casualty event on September 4, 2022, but will discuss the manhunt of Myles Sanderson, his arrest and death.
Pugh went through a PowerPoint presentation of the details around Myles Sanderson’s manhunt.
The RCMP Superintendent spoke on the initial investigation believing Damien Sanderson was responsible for the homicides, but how further investigation determined Damien was actually the first victim of the mass casualty event.
The RCMP formed a target apprehension team to focus on locating and apprehending Myles Sanderson comprised of Major Crimes Investigators. This team worked in collaboration with multiple police services and other RCMP services. A command office was also deployed and set up on James Smith Cree Nation.
The following was a timeline of Sanderson’s manhunt presented by Pugh.
According to the RCMP, shortly after 7:00 am on September 4,2022, Sanderson left the community of Weldon in a 2016 Nissan Rogue and his whereabouts were unknown.
On September 7 at around 2pm, RCMP received a report about a break and enter in a rural area near Wakaw. Sanderson was identified as a subject and fled the scene driving a stolen white 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. This happened 90 minutes prior to his arrest.
According to the report, a call was made to the Wakaw RCMP about the vehicle theft. The call was also not made by the victim herself, but was made by the victim’s mother who alleged it was Myles Sanderson who stole the vehicle.
The inquest would then play the call from the Wakaw RCMP officer who took the call speaking with RCMP dispatch. The officer was on route to the location at the time of the call.
RCMP also had trouble contacting the owner of the vehicle directly, but eventually did. The audio of that call was played to the inquest jury as well.
Shortly after, the Wakaw RCMP officer arrived at the location of the break and enter, and determined Myles Sanderson was responsible. A public Emergency Alert was then broadcast.
The inquest then played audio of the RCMP coordination to locate the white 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche that Sanderson was believed to be driving.
A total of 94 officers and several other RCMP services including aircraft were deployed to the area. Pugh believes the number of officers deployed in this matter were justified saying it was the “most intense” manhunt he has ever been apart of.
The inquest would then break for lunch with Pugh scheduled to finish his testimony in the afternoon. It is expected that Pugh’s testimony will be the only one the inquest hears on Monday as the inquest only made it a portion of the way through his detailed report.
11:00
Inquest opening and jury selection
The inquest will be looking at RCMP activities between September 4-7, 2022, and the apprehension of Myles Sanderson.
Coroner Robert Kennedy provided opening remarks on Monday morning.
Kennedy spoke on the functions of the coroner’s inquest, which he says will examine RCMP activities during the manhunt of Sanderson, how he was apprehended and how he died in custody.
Kennedy says the inquest is not a wide-ranging public inquiry, it is not for civil suits, and it will not look to find any criminal culpability.
The family of Myles Sanderson, and the Saskatchewan RCMP have been granted standing at the trial, which means they will be able to ask questions of the witnesses.
Tim Hawryluk has been designated as Coroner’s Counsel for the inquest.
13 witnesses are expected to testify. They include RCMP officers, a Saskatoon Police Service detective, a forensic pathologist, a forensic toxicologist, the attending physician who called time of death, paramedics, and a retired RCMP Staff Sgt. who conducted a post-mortem behavioural analyis report.
On Monday morning, 6 people were selected as the inquest jury – three of whom are Indigenous.
They will spend the week hearing witness testimony and will be tasked with determining how Sanderson died and will be able to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
8:30
Before the inquest began, Saskatchewan RCMP put out a statement as respresentatives from the RCMP are scheduled to testify during the inquest.
As an inquest typically results in recommendations, the RCMP says they will take any recommendations regarding its policing “very seriously.”
The RCMP also says any potential recommendation will be reviewed and a full written response will be provided for each recommendation.
Mounties also say they undertook an independent review by investigators outside of the Saskatchewan RCMP. They say the results of this review will be released after the conclusion of this second Coroner’s inquest.
6:00
A public inquest into the death of Myles Sanderson is scheduled to run this week in Saskatoon.
Sanderson killed 11 people during a mass stabbing on James Smith Cree Nation and the Village of Weldon in September 2022.
After the tragedy, Sanderson would be the subject of a multiple day manhunt before being taken into RCMP custody.
However, moments after his arrest police say Sanderson collapsed and died.
This week’s inquest will focus solely on Sanderson’s death as Saskatchewan’s Officer of the Chief Coroner holds an inquest into any in-custody death in the province.
The inquest, scheduled for one week, will hear witness testimony on the circumstances around Sanderson’s death.
At the inquest’s conclusion the inquest jury can make recommendations on the matter.
The inquest is taking place at the Saskatoon inn and Conference Centre. Coroner Robert Kennedy is presiding over the inquest.