Lawyer representing Cape Breton family questions staffing, protocols with regional police

A senior officer with Cape Breton Regional Police told a hearing Thursday about the early investigation of a fatal collision in 2018.

The Nova Scotia Police Review Board is looking into the investigation of 17-year-old Joneil Hanna's death. He was struck on a rural highway after leaving a high school graduation party.

Sgt. Michael Somerton told the board about evidence collection and early confusion about how events unfolded that night.

That included questions around Hanna's death and whether he died as a result of a motor vehicle collision or by being stabbed.

Police have said EHS initially believed Hanna might have been stabbed based on wounds on his body.

Somerton gave details Thursday about how evidence eventually revealed that Hanna was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Hayden Laffin.

Laura McCarthy, the lawyer representing Hanna's family, has raised questions this week around staffing with regional police.

"We heard a lot of evidence of it being very chaotic and in some sense, I suppose, overwhelming," she said. 

She adds this raises questions about whether staffing could have impacted the discretion that was used by the officers.

McCarthy has repeatedly asked if police would have acted differently at the party and the collision scene if they had more personnel working.

Through the course of the hearing, McCarthy has also questioned the hierarchy of how police crime scenes are handled. 

Hearing to conclude Tuesday

Many questions have been raised in the past related to Laffin, and whether police should have let him leave the scene of the collision without giving a formal statement.

McCarthy said police displayed inconsistencies in this area, with one officer taking another witness to headquarters while letting Laffin return home

"Mr. Laffin was speaking with police, but he was released without consulting with other officers about whether he should or shouldn't be released," McCarthy said. "That was a bit of concern considering the developing investigation that there was a motor vehicle accident and Mr. Laffin was the one operating the vehicle."

The hearing will conclude on Tuesday.

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