Sask. Mountie recounts chaotic moments arresting James Smith Cree Nation mass killer Myles Sanderson
CBC
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.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.
A stream of people showing up to a brightly lit front porch, each holding up a bottle of wine, spirits, or beer.
Sona Lakhoyan Olivier has been excluded from Quebec’s Liberal caucus for the duration of an investigation led by the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner, the party announced Thursday.
The head of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association hopes a city plan to crack down on vacant properties leads to a transformation in his community.