The inquest into the mass stabbing deaths at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon is being held at the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

JAMES SMITH INQUEST

Officers testify about 9-1-1 response at mass stabbing inquest

Jan 22, 2024 | 3:04 PM

After a two-day break, the inquest into the mass murder at James Smith Cree Nation and the Village of Weldon picked up where it left off on Friday.

Three witnesses testified Monday morning which included RCMP Staff Sgt. Robin Zentner. He was recalled after Skye Sanderson testified that she called 9-1-1 several times before the attack about the behaviour of Myles Sanderson and her husband Damien Sanderson.

Zentner said Major Crimes investigated the claims but 9-1-1 logs and three previous interviews with Skye show that this didn’t happen.

He did say Skye called police the day before the attack after Damien took her vehicle.

Insp. Alex Heron with the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol also took the stand. He offered an overview of how provincial protective services assisted with the RCMP’s investigation and response to the attacks, which included 53 officers over six days.

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Sherri Jule, director chief of emergency medical services for Saskatchewan’s north zone, ended up testifying that 10 emergency crews responded to the scene. Melfort, Tisdale, and Nipawin sent one each, while four came from Prince Albert, and all 3 STARS helicopters were used.

Jule said all EMS dispatched to the scene met the response time benchmark of nine minutes 59 seconds.

Testimony continues this afternoon.