Jessica Zita, attorney representing Lisa Banfield, gave a final oral submission before the Mass Casualty Commission on Thursday in Truro, NS. Zita said Banfield, who has told police and the commission multiple times about the years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of the gunman, had no idea RCMP officers who spoke with her in the months after the shooting were “planning.” to indict her. “The police need to know that this is inappropriate action on their part and inappropriate behavior to betray the trust of a victim of domestic violence,” said Zita, a partner at Toronto-based Lockyer Zaduk Zeeh. “Police behavior was … outdated, ill-informed and out of touch.” Attorney Jessica Zita, representing Lisa Banfield, addresses the Mass Casualty Commission’s inquiry into the mass killings in rural Nova Scotia on April 18-19, 2020, in Truro, NS, on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (The Canadian Press /Andrew Vaughan) In December 2020, Banfield was accused of supplying the gunman with ammunition. At the time, police said Banfield, her brother James Banfield and her brother-in-law Brian Brewster, who were also charged, did not know how the ammunition would be used. All three have since had their charges resolved through restorative justice. The accusations were not only unnecessary, Zita said, but also harmful and reminded Banfield again eight months after the horrific shooting. He added that the RCMP’s actions must be addressed by the commission in its final report next year because it led to an “egregious deception” of Banfield and her lawyers, which violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they were “unsuspectingly fully co – they work’ with the police. A prime example is the actions of RCMP Sgt. Greg Vardy, who was one of the first officers to interview Banfield on April 20, 2020, was “polite and considerate” with her, Zita said. Banfield, left, stands with RCMP Cpl. Gerry Rose-Berthiaume near the ruins of the armory in Portapique in October 2020, during a re-enactment of the events that took place months earlier, on April 18, 2020. (Mass Casualties Commission) Banfield felt so comfortable with the Mounties that she agreed to take the officers on her first visit back to Portapique in October 2020, which was filmed by the RCMP. During that visit, Banfield recreated her movements on the night of April 18, but Zita said police did not let her sisters walk with her and that there were no other qualified mental health or trauma specialists. While Banfield believed that visit would bring her closure, Vardy and other investigators had an “agenda,” Zita said, as police gathered information throughout to charge her. That process was never shared with Banfield or her attorney, James Lockyer, despite his request that police notify him if such an investigation were to begin, Zita said. For the police to come face-to-face with Banfield’s vulnerability and “feign sensitivity to further an ulterior motive is manipulative and dare I say abusive,” Zita said. “The police went overboard. This was an investigation that could be described as both careless and calculated,” Zita said. “Worst of all, this can do nothing but discourage victims of domestic violence from coming forward to the police. Why would they, how could they, if it means they will be investigated themselves?” Nova Scotia RCMP told CBC News that Banfield was not under investigation at the time of the shooting of the reenactment. Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulensin, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulensin, Sean McLeod, Alana Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O’Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from 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) However, an interview Banfield gave to the RCMP shortly after the shooting on April 28, 2020, is labeled a “cautioned” statement. Police take precautions when questioning someone suspected of a crime to make sure their answers are admissible in court. The RCMP had also obtained search warrants for James Banfield and Brewster in the spring of 2020. The committee will continue to hear final oral submissions from attorneys and research participants through Thursday and Friday.
