Sask. inquest sees video of police chase that led to capture of Myles Sanderson
A coroner’s inquest in Saskatoon saw dramatic dash cam footage of the highway pursuit that ended the three-day manhunt for Myles Sanderson in September 2022.
The inquest, which started Monday, will determine how Sanderson died almost immediately after being taken into police custody, and why it took three days for 100 police officers in the area to find the most wanted man in western Canada.
On Sept. 4, 2022, Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 more in a brutal stabbing spree in the communities of James Smith Cree Nation and the village of Weldon. Last month, a separate inquest into those deaths offered insight into the days that led up to the killings.
The jury heard Sanderson was awake for days, drinking and selling cocaine before the violence started.
On Monday afternoon, RCMP Supt. Devin Pugh laid out the final day of the province-wide manhunt through recordings of police radio conversations and dash cam footage of the final chase.
The jury saw RCMP follow his stolen white Chevy Avalanche into a gas station just outside the town of Rosthern, about 66 kilometres north of Saskatoon. When Sanderson sped through the ditch to return to the highway, the chase began.
Sanderson drove southward in the northbound lane of busy Saskatchewan Highway 11, driving past oncoming traffic at high speeds. The inquest heard police calling for officers to block traffic further up the road so they could attempt to force his truck off the road using what’s commonly known as a pit maneuver.
Pugh testified RCMP officers are generally instructed not to make contact with suspect vehicles, but he felt the risk to the public warranted drastic measures.
"I've never seen, in my career, somebody that was aiming at traffic at a high rate of speed in the wrong lane with that volume of traffic," said Pugh.
"It was incredibly high risk. Incredibly high risk."
James Smith Chief Wally Burns told reporters the video was painful to watch.
"I think it was traumatizing because, if you take a look at it, they just about lost their lives, too."
After several kilometres dodging police and oncoming cars, the video showed Sanderson cross the ditch into the southbound lane. An officer used their vehicle to nudge the rear end of the stolen Chevy Avalanche and it spun out, coming to a stop in the ditch with his airbags deployed.
Police came out with guns drawn. One of the officers cautioned they saw Sanderson reaching for something.
One of the police officers opened the driver’s side door. The inquest heard another officer call out that they recovered a knife from the passenger side.
“Get out of the vehicle. Get out of the f**king vehicle,” the police said.
From the dash cam of an RCMP vehicle facing the driver’s side door of the Avalanche, there was a clear look at where Sanderson was sitting, but his face was obscured by the airbag.
With four or five officers huddled around, Sanderson was pulled from the truck and forced onto the ground. It was impossible to get a sense of his condition from the brief glimpse in the footage.
Pugh said Sanderson went into medical distress after he was walked from the crash site to a police vehicle. He said one of the arresting officers was a former paramedic and initiated first aid around 3:35 p.m., after realizing something was wrong with Sanderson.
On Tuesday, the inquest will hear from a Saskatoon Police Service sergeant who will describe their role in the three-day search, and explain how his officers handle arrest warrants that come in when people on supervised release from prison breach their conditions.
This could be the first time Saskatoon police describe what efforts they made to find Sanderson in the months before his brutal rampage.
In the last inquest, the jury heard Sanderson breached the conditions of his statutory release multiple times, usually by making contact with or living with the mother of his children, Vanessa Burns. His parole officer testified Burns’ Saskatoon residence would be a likely place to find him if he broke contact.
There was an arrest warrant out for Sanderson for months before he committed the mass killing, and Burns testified he was living with her for about a month prior to the incident.
-With files from Stacey Hein
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.