Internal reports contradict Sask. premier's claims, deny police said bullets caused holes at campaign office

Internal reports prepared by a Regina police officer contradict claims Premier Scott Moe made about damage at a Saskatchewan Party campaign office during this fall's provincial election campaign.

Moe said in October that Saskatchewan Party campaign workers were told by a police officer that two holes in the window of Rahul Singh's campaign office in Regina were caused by gunfire.

The report filed by the Regina police officer does not support that claim.

"At no point I said the holes were made by a firearm," wrote an officer referred to as L. Rodriguez, the only identifying information about the officer who filed the supplementary occurrence report.

The report forms part of six pages of internal documents released to CBC through a freedom of information request. 

The documents give a much clearer picture of the Regina Police Service's response to an incident that Moe compared to the attempted assassination of then U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

CBC asked Moe's office for an interview so he could respond to the new information. Instead, the Saskatchewan Party provided a statement.

"We have no further comment. We stand by the comments made at the time," the statement said. 

What happened

Moe first mentioned the damage at the campaign office while campaigning on Oct. 22.

As Moe faced questions about a conflict of interest ruling against former Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal, the premier brought up the damage at the office of the Saskatchewan Party's Regina Northeast candidate, Rahul Singh.

Moe said the office appeared to have had bullets shot into it. Under questioning, he said bullets were fired at the office.

Saskatchewan Party communications put out a news release a short time later. Singh was quoted in the release as calling it an "attack."

The police reports paint a much different picture. 

Rodriguez writes that on Oct. 21 at about 4:53 p.m. CST, he was at a store in the same strip mall as Singh's campaign office investigating an unrelated matter. 

Singh approached Rodriguez's vehicle and said he believed someone shot at the windows of his office. 

A portion of the report detailing what Singh told Rodriguez is redacted, but the officer ultimately examined the window and found two holes. Rodriguez confirmed with Singh that staff had not recovered any casings or foreign objects. 

The officer concluded it was not a priority call as the event could have taken place overnight, and there were no witnesses at the time and no access to video footage. 

Rodriguez wrote in the report that he informed Singh that a proper investigation, including the forensic unit, would be required to determine what caused the two holes.

The officer wrote that he mentioned to Singh that the holes could have been caused by a "stone chip from a truck leaving the parking lot at high speed, a BB gun, or anything."

Rodriguez directed Singh to call the non-emergency line to make a report, because he was in the area on an unrelated manner. 

Rodriguez did not immediately file a report on the incident. The supplementary occurrence report provided to CBC is dated Oct. 29.

Singh's campaign manager made the call to the non-emergency line at 9:24 p.m. CST that evening, according to a separate report provided to CBC News.

The caller reported two holes, each the size of a "small blueberry," that someone believed to be "bullet holes." The person's name is redacted in the report.

Moe made his initial comments the following morning, Oct. 22. 

Investigators quickly determined damage not result of a bullet

The first police investigators were not dispatched to the scene until later that day. 

In another report filed, a police officer identified as D. Ford recounts being dispatched to investigate and what was found during an initial inspection of the window.

"I checked both holes and they appear to be identical in size and damage however I did not believe this to be caused by an actual bullet," Ford wrote. 

At 12:50 p.m. CST, Ford informed Singh that he "did not believe it to be a bullet from a gun," according to the report. 

The officer gave other possible explanations for the holes, including a pellet gun or an object used to puncture the glass. 

Ford canvassed the area for video footage and then spoke with other police officers about their thoughts on the holes. 

"They advised 100% not any bullet would cause that," the report reads.

The officers ultimately landed on a slingshot and a marble as a possible cause of the damage, as a marble would bounce back and not leave behind any objects inside the window pane. 

None of the video obtained by Ford was helpful in the investigation. 

Throughout the following days, Moe continued to insist that the incident was the result of gunfire. 

On Oct. 23, CBC asked him why he described the vandalism at the campaign office as a shooting.

"Because that's what police said it was," he responded.

Moe insisted the next day Singh was told by the initial officer on Oct. 21 that the damage was caused by gunfire. 

The statement provided by the Saskatchewan Party Thursday indicates he stands by that comment.

NDP says Moe 'lied'

On Friday, the Official Opposition took Moe to task.

"This is ridiculous. The premier lied, got caught, and instead of owning that is now accusing the police of lying," said Nicole Sarauer, the NDP's critic for correction, public safety and policing, in a news release. 

In the release, the NDP say Moe brought up the damage at the office "to distract the public" from the ruling made against Grewal. 

The party is now calling on Moe to apologize to the Regina Police Service and the people of Saskatchewan.