RCMP at Coastal GasLink pipeline blockade raid worried about weapons, booby traps
Court hears from police witnesses in abuse of process hearing
A police officer told a judge Tuesday that RCMP were worried about weapons, booby traps and partly felled trees when enforcing an injunction against blockades of construction work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline in November 2021.
RCMP Supt. James Elliott, who was part of the emergency response team as a commander, was testifying in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers in an abuse of process hearing for three people found guilty of criminal contempt of court for breaking the injunction.
The hearing started Jan. 12, directly following the trial for Sleydo', also known as Molly Wickham, a Wing Chief of Cas Yikh, a house group of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation; Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet'suwet'en family ties and Corey Jocko, who is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne, which straddles the Quebec, Ontario and New York state borders.
The abuse of process application filed by the accused alleges RCMP used excessive force when they were arrested and that they were treated unfairly while in custody. The filing asks that if the judge doesn't stay their charges, then it would be appropriate to reduce their sentences based on their treatment by police.
Elliott played a role in deciding the resources needed for the raid along the Morice forest service road on Nov. 18 and 19 to arrest people who were blocking access to the work sites.
Situation 'very volatile,' says officer
Elliott told Justice Michael Tammen that he was made aware on Nov. 15, 2021, of the need for several police units to be deployed for the enforcement of the injunction and arrived in Smithers a day later.
Elliot said RCMP had a three-day window to clear the road as the blockade prevented food, water and medical supplies from getting to workers at a Coastal GasLink camp and that fuel there was running low. Elliott said he was worried that workers would try and leave the camp and get into confrontations with the pipeline opponents.
Elliott said he considered the situation "very volatile" due to information he had received from other police officers.
He said he was worried about an influx of supporters to the area after calls to support the pipeline opponents on social media.
"We didn't know how many people were actually going to show up; we didn't know what level of resistance or violence we could expect," said Elliott.
Elliott said he was considering information about half-cut trees along the side of the forest service road that had potential to fall, a social media post that indicated weapons were hidden under the snow in the area, and the possibility of booby traps along the road.
Several other police witnesses also mentioned the potential for booby traps but no one has testified that any were found.
Great law of peace reference misinterpreted
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Frances Mahon established that the social media post in question was an Instagram story posted by Logan Staats, a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) musician from Six Nations in Ontario, who pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court in November for participating in the blockade along the Morice forest service road.
Mohan told court the post said "Even in the eye of the storm there is great peace. We all must bury our weapons underneath the pine."
The post makes reference to the Haudenosaunee great law of peace, in which five warring nations bury their weapons under a pine tree to unite.
Elliott said he was not aware of this when he saw the post, but that he would still need to assume there were weapons present.
Two firearms were found during a police search of the tiny house where Sleydo' and Sampson were arrested on Nov. 19. The court has not heard any allegations that these weapons were unlawful.
The Crown played a social media video post from Nov. 15 from the Gidimt'en checkpoint Facebook page titled "Yesterday, we took our land back" that shows an interaction between people at a blockade and Coastal GasLink workers. Later, a person in camouflage can be seen holding a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) warrior flag while riding in a commandeered excavator.
Elliott, who saw the video when he was planning the raid, said it showed that the blockade members had no intent to leave the area. He said he saw the flag as symbolism of "heightened activism."
"This heightened my assessment of risk in the situation," said Elliott.
Mahon will continue cross-examination of Elliott Wednesday.
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