The Emergency Response Team cop who drove an RCMP tactical armoured vehicle during a fatal stand-off in Whalley five years ago told a coronersa国际传媒檚 inquest what it was like to be in harmsa国际传媒檚 way.
Sgt. Kyle Kuharski testified Wednesday (April 17) at the inquest into the deaths of Nona Marnie McEwan, 45, and her boyfriend Randy Crosson, 48 who were killed by police on March 29, 2019. Crosson was holding McEwan hostage at the time.
sa国际传媒淚t was broadcast that a firearm was pointed out of the window at the front of the residence, and pointed at me, or the TAV,sa国际传媒� Sgt. Kyle Kuharski.
Because he was by himself in the vehicle, Kuharski said, he wasnsa国际传媒檛 able to pull closed the hatch near his seat. sa国际传媒淚t was a concern for me at that time because Isa国际传媒檓 sitting right there, and my head, while itsa国际传媒檚 recessed inside the vehicle, it is if yousa国际传媒檝e seen any movies with tanks, itsa国际传媒檚 kind of like that, yousa国际传媒檙e sitting there and then your head is just right kind of like flush with the roof of the TAV.sa国际传媒�
Kuharski has been a police officer since 2002 and was an ERT member from 2008 to 2021 in the Lower Mainland, based out of Surrey.
He backed the TAV off of the lawn and down the street to a place he could pull the heavy hatch closed, sa国际传媒渏ust to give myself a little bit more of ballistic protection,sa国际传媒� before returning to the front lawn.
sa国际传媒淚 continued the broadcasts over the PA. I advised Randy that he was under arrest for pointing a firearm at a police officer. I continued to tell him that we needed to talk to him. We told him to call 911, asked him to come out, asked anyone inside to come out, told him, told Nona that we needed her to come out and just kind of went through that narrative.sa国际传媒�
Kuharski said hesa国际传媒檇 received a broadcast on his phone earlier, sa国际传媒渢hat there had been shots fired and that theysa国际传媒檇 heard a female screaming and that ERT was required.sa国际传媒� After scoping out the scene, he thought the best position would be on the front lawn, where he activated the TAVsa国际传媒檚 emergency lights and sirens and did a broadcast on the sa国际传媒渓oud-hailer.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 told Randy over the PA system that it was the police, that he was under arrest for failing to comply with his release conditions, that we had a warrant for his arrest and that he needed to exit the house. I told him to do this, come out the front door with his hands in the air, and continued to broadcast that.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚t would be repetitious,sa国际传媒� he told the inquest.
sa国际传媒淚 remember from inside the TAV hearing yelling, a malesa国际传媒檚 voice sa国际传媒� or it sounded like a malesa国际传媒檚 voice to me. Itsa国际传媒檚 hard when yousa国际传媒檙e inside that vehicle, itsa国际传媒檚 obviously very heavy metal, itsa国际传媒檚 hard to hear whatsa国际传媒檚 exactly being said, but I remember hearing someone yelling from outside which wasnsa国际传媒檛 us,sa国际传媒� Kuharski said.
Eventually he was asked to sa国际传媒渙pensa国际传媒� the front door of the house with a battering ram mounted on the front of the TAV, but he couldnsa国际传媒檛 get close enough.
The inquest began April 16 in Burnaby at Coronerssa国际传媒� Court on the 20th floor of Metrotower II with coroner Margaret Janzen presiding. Itsa国际传媒檚 expected to run for two weeks, with a jury of four women and a man hearing testimony.
