Sask. RCMP say more on why they failed to identify Sanderson before the violence started

The RCMP responded to how they could have failed to identify Damien Sanderson at a home prior to the beginning of Myles Sanderson's stabbing spree on James Smith Cree Nation in September.

Officers spoke directly to Damien at a home in James Smith on Sept. 3, 2022, while responding to a report of a stolen vehicle. Damien gave them the name of a different community member, and because police had an eight-year-old photo, they didn’t realize it was him.

On Thursday, after outlining the sequence of events in the killing spree, Sask. RCMP Commanding Officer Rhonda Blackmore said police only had access to the photo from his arrest years before.

“We’re not allowed to go and just randomly take pictures of individuals,” said Blackmore. “So, depending on their criminal history, and when those photographs were taken as part of charges against them, it would dictate when the photographs were on our files.”

If someone hasn’t been charged with a crime, Blackmore said police “can’t go and demand an updated photograph.”

Blackmore also addressed the time it took for police to respond as reports of violence started coming in. There were officers off duty but on call at the time, but she says it only took them 12 minutes from the point of receiving the call to leaving for the scene.

Having RCMP officers on duty 24 hours a day would require a massive financial investment, she said.

“Twenty-four-hour policing requires a significant amount of resources and in some cases, to be able to put those resources together you may have to amalgamate detachments or look at a larger geographical area,” said Blackmore.