A round table last week on the digital radio system in Nova Scotia used by police and other first responders was discussing the technical aspects of the system and what happened on 18 and 19 April 2020 when a gunman killed 22 people in the county. “After the incident… it became clear that some of the functions of the radio were not, I would say, widely understood or practiced,” said Christian Gallant, head of information and technology at RCMP Nova Scotia. the Mass Accident Committee leading the investigation on Thursday. Gallant said his role includes overseeing the radio program and training on this technology for RCMP. Several front-line officers and commanders said in the investigation that they encountered problems while trying to speak on their portable radios to share important information or instructions. During the incident in the Onslow fire room, two RCMP Const officers. Terry Brown and Const. Dave Melanson accidentally opened fire on a civilian who was thought to be a raging gunman. Melanson testified last month that he and Brown decided to shoot after failing to turn on his portable radio and receive instructions from commanders. The investigation found that he made eight failed attempts to contact commanders using the wireless system. A March 2021 report from the Nova Scotia Police Surveillance Service acquitted the Mounties of wrongdoing and largely blamed blocked radio communications for what happened. The Serious Response Team said the “only reason” police could not broadcast before opening fire was because “there was no talk line available due to the high volume of radio traffic”. However, Trevor MacLeod, director of radio engineering and public safety at Bell Mobility, said Thursday that the radio was working properly. Although radio calls tripled compared to a regular weekend on the morning of April 19 at the tower closest to Portapique and other tents, MacLeod noted that the system never exceeded its capabilities. From left: Trevor MacLeod of Bell Mobility, Matthew Boyle of Public Safety & Field Communications, Todd Brown of PSFC and Christian Gallant of RCMP of Nova Scotia are being questioned by committee adviser Jennifer Cox. (Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press) If any radio user received busy signals while trying to speak, MacLeod said their call would be lined up, but within “seconds” they would receive a ping alert notifying them that they could now speak. It is unclear whether Brown and Melanson, or other officers, used the emergency call properly to speak, or ERTT, during the incident. The members of the round table explained that when the bright orange button is pressed, the radio user can speak immediately – even if he has been receiving busy signals before. The radio user could talk for 20 seconds without interruption and the business communications center handling 911 calls and RCMP sending will also be notified of this message upon arrival. Glen Byrne, commander of the communications center, told the commission’s investigators in an interview last summer that he had heard from his staff “many times” that some RCMP members did not know how to use their radios. “A member puts a radio in his belt … in his belt and in a 12-hour shift, he probably interacts with that radio … hundreds of times. However, they do not know how the radio works or how it works.” said Byrne. “This is crazy … a radio will save a member’s life before their gun.”
The RCMP must press a specific button
Business communications center staff often guide the Mounties on how to switch between channels and get on the right talk team, Byrne said. He described it as a “problem”. Research has heard that voice groups are like a radio chatroom where many agencies can speak freely and also securely if the group is encrypted. The inquiry was also heard on Thursday about the importance of the RTT (talk request) button, which signals to senders at the business communications center that an RCMP member has a message for them. Unlike the Halifax communications center, which sends both the RCMP and municipal forces to the Halifax area, the OCC does not monitor live radio broadcasts because it handles so many members and discussion groups across the province, according to documents it provided to publicity research. It is not clear if key information sharing officers used this RTT button, such as Const. Vicky Colford reports that she was told to return from Portapique on the night of April 18th. The investigation heard that this was probably not the case, as no executor responded to Colford at the time, and the RCMP risk manager at the OCC also said he did not hear it. Byrne said in an interview that more radio training was needed and suggested that a full radio training program be provided for RCMP members each year, instead of every four years as is the case now.
New weekly emergency button test
Although the training material itself has not changed much since the mass shooting, Gallant said Thursday that RCMP now has weekly ERTT tests with members so they can experience what it is like to use the emergency call button. A radiocommunication document prepared for the investigation stated that internships and equipment tests also continue to be conducted weekly between the municipal police force and the RCMP. The OCC offers a weekly check-in, where any law enforcement radio user can practice changing their radio channel to a talk group. Regular physical use of the radio and familiarity with audible alerts and features are key for police officers so they do not waste time during a crisis, said Matthew Boyle, Director of Public Security & Communications on the Spot. for the province. “There are other things going on around them, there is activity and noise and distractions and so on, so that’s where muscle memory becomes very important,” Boyle said. Boyle said the PSFC operates the radio system in Nova Scotia and develops overall training, but leaves it to agencies such as the RCMP to do so internally. Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Gulett, Down Gulensen, Jolene 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) The issue of air support radio was also raised on Thursday. The investigation found that Byrne and the pilot in the Department of Natural Resources helicopter assisting in the search for the gunman on April 19 could not enter the same secure channel and had to compromise with an unencrypted one. When the issue of airline communications arose on the morning of April 19, Boyle said he was watching the radio and approached the RCMP to suggest that Byrne and the pilot join the same encrypted voice group. Boyle later said that they realized it was a matter of timing – both Byrne and the pilot had access to the secure channel, but not at the same time, so they thought it was not working. Byrne said in an interview that the OCC is now conducting regular tests with provincial pilots. Although Boyle said his team did not call back on April 19 to help manage radio communications because they were unaware of what was happening, he suggested in the future attending big events earlier to help where I could. The investigation also heard Thursday that a radio in the replica of the armed RCMP vehicle was an older model that would not have the capability to listen to the digital radio network used by the RCMP during the shootings. But during the next interrogation by Commissioner Leanne Fitch, Boyle said it would be possible to monitor older analogue radios used by organizations such as fire departments. “That would be technically possible. Of course, I can not guess if so much has happened,” Boyle said. The search continues Monday in Dartmouth, where small group discussions will take place with others involved in responding to the mass shootings.
