By Joel van der Veen

REGINA — More than two years later, memories of the night of Sept. 11, 2013 were enough to bring tears of the eyes of a former Craik RCMP officer.

It was the night he responded to a call to Holdfast, where he attempted to arrest 42-year-old Gerald Lord on a charge of criminal harassment.

A visit to Lord’s home quickly escalated into a violent confrontation, resulting in the officer drawing his service pistol, firing multiple shots and ending Lord’s life in the process.

“I feared for my life,” the constable testified, saying that using his firearm was his only resort. “I had to do something else just to stay alive.”

The officer was describing the incident on Monday at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina, during an inquest into Gerald Lord’s death.

Identified only as “Const. Eric” due to a publication ban relating to his current work, he provided detailed testimony on the first day of a four-day inquest ordered by the Ministry of Justice.

Coroner Alma Wiebe, who led the inquest, reminded the six-member jury on Monday that their purpose was not to determine guilt or innocence.

Rather, the inquest was intended to establish the facts of the incident. The jury would also have the opportunity to make recommendations in order to prevent similar deaths in the future.

Neil Robertson served as coroner’s counsel, while Bruce Gibson and Chris Bernier served as counsel on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The inquest heard that Const. Eric joined the RCMP in 2010 and was assigned to Craik in 2012. He was working alone on the evening of Sept. 11, 2013, when he received a call at the detachment from Holdfast resident Harry Fischer around 8:20 p.m.

Fischer reported that his former friend, Gerald Lord, had been repeatedly phoning and sending him text and voicemail messages. In the calls and messages, Lord accused him of stealing a hammer and threatened him with physical violence.

Fischer told the officer that he wanted to press charges, so the officer drove to Fischer’s home in Holdfast. En route, the officer said he did database searches for both Fischer and Lord, finding no warrants or other such flags on their records.

After visiting with Fischer, he said, he believed he had grounds for arrest, noting later that Lord phoned around 10 times during the visit.

The officer said he drove to Lord’s house — with Fischer leading the way in his own vehicle — arriving there around 9:30 p.m.

Parking in the driveway, Const. Eric said he advised the dispatch centre of his whereabouts and then went to the back door, having been told this was the primary entrance.

Hearing loud music blaring from inside, he opened the screen door and knocked on the inside door, to no response. The music stopped after a second knock, and Lord opened the door, standing inside on a dimly-lit landing.

“I asked him how he was, I got no answer,” said the constable. “He was just staring blankly.”

Const. Eric said he immediately noticed that Lord was taller and heavier than himself, estimating that he outweighed the officer by around 100 pounds. Lord also appeared to be intoxicated, he said.

According to his testimony, the officer asked Lord to step out of the house and received no response. He then told him he was under arrest.

Lord tried to close the door, but the officer blocked it with his foot. He began to handcuff Lord, placing one cuff on his right hand.

Suddenly, Lord grabbed the officer’s collar and vest strap, shoving him against the inside back wall. Soon he had both hands against the officer’s neck, applying pressure on his throat.

“I couldn’t move either way, he had control of me,” said the constable, testifying that Lord looked into his eyes and said, “Get out of my house or I’ll kill you.”

The officer said he asked Lord repeatedly to let him go and warned that he would use his Taser on him, but to no avail. Two attempts to use the Taser were unsuccessful.

Const. Eric then said he lost his balance and found himself lying prone against the stairs leading to the main floor. The scuffle quickly resumed with Lord’s hands back on the officer’s throat.

The officer said he grabbed his pistol and shot twice at Lord’s body, after which he felt some pressure released from his throat.

He testified that he tossed his Taser out of reach and then, taking the gun in both hands, he fired again, aiming at Lord’s head.

Lord fell to the staircase, and there was no further response from him, said the officer. The encounter lasted less than five minutes.

Const. Eric said he then contacted the dispatch centre using his radio and reported what had happened.

For the full story, please see the March 14 edition of The Davidson Leader.

By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — Rural health care was the topic of discussion for a lively public forum that drew a crowd of 100 to the Craik Legion Hall.

Rural and remote health minister Greg Ottenbreit, representing the Saskatchewan Party, was joined by the leaders of the other four major political parties in the province on March 5.

For three hours, they answered a series of four prepared questions, along with approved questions from audience members, dealing with rural health concerns.

Town councillor David Ashdown, who serves as chair of the Craik and District Health Care Committee, moderated the discussion.

The event was scheduled exactly one year after local residents visited the legislature, protesting the erosion of health services and demanding action.

While the committee continues to push for improved services, Ashdown said the forum’s purpose was to discuss wider issues in rural health care.

The five participants were provided with the four main questions in advance. Responses were timed, with sharply-dressed Mayor Rick Rogers manning the bell.

Ottenbreit defended his party’s record on health care — pointing to achievements like reduced surgical wait times and the hiring of 650 doctors and 3,000 nurses — and said services have improved greatly since the NDP era.

“We inherited a system that had drifted away from a patient-first mentality,” he said.

While the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program has helped to fill vacancies, Ottenbreit said his government also wants to retain local graduates and attract them to rural postings.

NDP leader Cam Broten was direct, pledging that if his party forms the next government, they would restore emergency services to the Craik and District Health Centre.

“We have the right facility, this needs to be a priority,” he told the Leader later, adding that restoring Craik’s serivces would also reduce pressure on city facilities.

Broten drew applause as he claimed that the Saskatchewan Party was ignoring rural concerns, saying, “From my vantage point, they’re taking you for granted.”

The NDP leader singled out local MLAs Greg Brkich (in attendance) and Lyle Stewart (not) for failing to stand up for their constituents.

He also criticized what he called a lack of political leadership at the top, pledging to cut administrative waste and to boost the number of front-line workers.

For the full story, please see the March 14 edition of The Davidson Leader.