Jurors hear chaotic moments leading up to arrest of James Smith Cree Nation mass killer Myles Sanderson
Harrowing high-speed chase preceded Sanderson's arrest
WARNING: Some content may be distressing to readers.
As he tried to put mass killer Myles Sanderson in the back of a police cruiser, the arresting RCMP constable says he felt the man's body stop, tense up and start to shake.
"I could see it in his eyes — they were rolling in the back of his head. From my past experiences, I knew that he was dying," Const. Bill Rowley told the jury at a public coroner's inquest in Saskatoon on Wednesday.
On Sept. 4, 2022, Sanderson killed 11 people — 10 from his home community of James Smith Cree Nation and another from the nearby village of Weldon. The inquest is meant to establish when, where and how Sanderson died.
Rowley was among the officers involved in the high-speed police pursuit down a major Saskatchewan highway following a three-day manhunt for Sanderson, 32.
On Sept. 7, police tracked him down just outside of Rosthern, Sask., initiating the chase that would ultimately lead to Sanderson's arrest. Shortly after being cuffed, Sanderson went into what police called medical distress. About an hour later, he was declared dead in hospital.
Rowley recalled the moments leading up to the arrest: speeding along Highway 11 up to about 167 kilometres per hour in a "harrowing" pursuit, following Sanderson after he was forced into a ditch by another officer, and instructing him to show his hands.
One officer yelled that Sanderson had a knife. Rowley said he was taught to assume that if the suspect has one weapon, they could have another.
When he opened the door to the truck, he said he expected Sanderson would exit wielding a gun or a knife, leading to a subsequent shootout.
"I was under the expectation that he was coming out to finish some unfinished business," Rowley said.
WATCH | Sanderson died of cocaine overdose, inquest hears:
Rowley and another officer pulled Sanderson out of the stolen white Chevrolet Avalanche, cuffed him and searched him.
Sanderson then went into what Rowley called "medical distress," bleeding from his nose and frothing blood from his mouth.
When asked whether he took anything, Sanderson's muffled response sounded like "meth" to Rowley.
Sanderson was given first aid and two shots of naloxone, a medication that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose.
Const. Travis Adema, who helped pull Sanderson from the truck, testified Wednesday that he had noticed a bit of plastic coming from Sanderson's hand when he fell into medical distress.
It was the bag of white powder, with something rolled up inside, that would later test positive for cocaine. On Tuesday, Saskatchewan's chief forensic pathologist testified that Sanderson died of an acute cocaine overdose.
'Hearing his voice again is very triggering for me'
Vanessa Burns, Sanderson's former common-law partner, wasn't surprised to hear that's how he died.
"I kind of figured that from the get-go," she said, adding Sanderson told her in their last two weeks together that he was planning to take his own life using a fentanyl pill. "I just assumed he did it."
WATCH | Former partner of Myles Sanderson on watching video of his arrest at inquest:
Burns said it's emotional watching dash cam footage of his arrest and the moment he starts to crumble in the arms of officers — a mix of anger, sadness and confusion.
Sanderson killed Burns's father and injured her mother.
Over the past two and a half days, the jury and gallery at the inquest have watched tape of the pursuit and audio from both the officers and Sanderson's voice broadcast through their microphones.
Burns heard Sanderson swear at police, asking why they didn't shoot him.
"Hearing his voice again is very triggering for me," she said.
While others sometimes left while the video played, Burns said she stayed to help her reach closure, and to see how the events ended after what he had done to her family.
Rowley's testimony is a part of a week-long inquest into the death of Sanderson, a legislated requirement given he died in police custody.
Const. Sean Nave was among the first to begin giving Sanderson medical care.
The former paramedic delivered two shots of naloxone, and said at one point he struggled to find a pulse.
Nave said he never stopped lifesaving measures. He said he followed Sanderson into the ambulance, where he had been taken on a scoop stretcher, and continued aiding with compressions and assisted breathing.
Calvin Heurer, an advanced-care paramedic from Rosthern, testified he was called to the collision site. He said Sanderson was flatlining when he hooked him to equipment to monitor his heart, something that did not change on the ride to hospital.
At the conclusion of the inquest, six jury members will be tasked with concluding when, how and where Sanderson died, and have an opportunity to give recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
A separate inquest into the massacre was held last month, examining each of the killings and issuing more than two dozen recommendations.
Support is available for people affected by this tragedy. The Hope for Wellness hotline offers immediate help to Indigenous people across Canada. Mental health counselling and crisis support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
You can talk to a mental health professional via Wellness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 686868 for youth or 741741 for adults. It is free and confidential.
Talking Stick is a Saskatchewan-based free anonymous chat platform that connects people seeking emotional support to a trained Indigenous peer advocate 24/7.
Corrections
- Due to an editing error, an incorrect date was given for Myles Sanderson's death. He died at hospital on Sept. 7, 2022.Feb 27, 2024 6:14 PM CT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Sam Samson