But they never imagined that their suspect was in a vehicle almost identical to the ones they were driving. Police officers Stuart Beselt, Adam Merchant and Aaron Patton testified together Monday in the investigation into the shooting that killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer. The form of the control panel had all three sitting side by side, as they discovered the first 90 minutes of the RCMP’s response on April 18, 2020. The trio described how they drove between 160-200 km / h in separate vehicles outside the Truro to reach the stage at Portapique in about 20 minutes. At the time, they only knew that a shot had been fired at the small, rural community. Beselt acknowledged that they had information on arrival suggesting the suspect was driving something that “looked like a police car”, but said that could mean different things to different people. “We are open to anything at that point, but did we specifically think he had a model police car that was in every way just like a police car? No. It was a surprise to us,” he said. Bezelt told the investigation that just the next day the RCMP released a photo of the gunman’s car to the public, realizing it was actually a replica of the police car. “What you have to realize is that for him it is a target-rich environment, because he knows it’s the only fake. We had no idea what the level of this car was – what happened,” Beselt said. “The next day, they did it and it still had the jump in two members.”

It would be difficult to meet the virtual cruiser: an officer

Beselt told investigators that night they assumed an old decommissioned police car with “some of the old signs” was possible, but said they were open to anything. “We never imagined it was so detailed,” Beselt said. Patton said that if they had met the copy of the car that night, they would have made difficult decisions about how to proceed. “Obviously we would have seen it as a threat, but it would have been very difficult to take action on it, perhaps feeling that perhaps a colleague had done it before us,” he said. Bezelt said that if this happened, and they fell on the gunman, they would have been shot. He said police “turned their guns on every vehicle” they saw that night.

“Hey, this is crazy”

Roger Burrill, senior adviser to the Inquiry Committee leading the investigation, played 911 calls and radio communications between RCMP members before calling for response and insight. Patton described how they were not scared that night as they searched for the shooter. He said there was too much adrenaline. “I do not think it’s the feeling that we are the three bravest guys out there because I do not think that’s true. We have not had a chance to be scared,” he said. Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19. Top row from left: Gina Gulett, Down Gulencin, Joulen Oliver, Frank Gulencin, Sean McLeod, Alana Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O’Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from the top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)
Bezelt described how they chased the sounds of explosions and gunfire. The trader said he was thinking in the back of his mind “this is crazy”. Patton said that only at the end of the night, when the fires were going down, were they able to reflect on the seriousness of the situation. “There was no real direction for where we were going, waiting for the next direction for where to go, and I think that was the first opportunity in three hours that we said, ‘Hey, this is crazy.’