The Mounties pulled the Portapique gunman over for speeding just two months before the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
Constable Nick Dorrington told the inquiry on Monday he spotted a white Ford Taurus with subdued markings travelling fast on Highway 2 in February 2020.
It was clocked travelling 35 km per hour above the posted speed limit. Dorrington adds it was difficult to spot at the time as its rear lights were off and it was approaching dusk at 6 p.m.
He says he also had to confirm it was not a patrol car due to the slight markings. Dorrington flashed his lights and pulled the vehicle over on Portapique Road.
That’s when the driver got out and started walking towards him. Dorrington states that was an immediate red flag.
“So, I have a male who gets out of his vehicle immediately, which is not common,” Dorrington says. “That’s a clear threat to me. Traffic stops are inherently dangerous to begin with. They’re high risk. We don’t know who we’re dealing with. We have no idea if they do or don’t have any weapons, for instance. Or whether they are, or aren’t, under the influence, so they’re a very high risk piece of business for us. This was an indivudal getting out of the vehicle, and coming back at me directly, so it was certainly a concern.”
He says he was compliant once he ordered the man back to his vehicle.
Dorrington adds the man was worried he was being targeted following an interaction with Halifax Police. The officer told him he didn’t know anything about that and had pulled him over for speeding.
A screenshot from the Portapique Inquiry proceedings on June 20, 2022. It shows the radar for the traffic stop and the driver’s license.
Dorrington said the man also asked about whether or not he enjoyed driving the Ford Taurus, stating he had a few of his own.
Dorrington flagged it as odd because he was unsure why someone would want to own multiple of the same vehicle unless it was for parts.
The officer took a photo of the driver’s licence for the record, which would later be used by police during the shooter’s 13-hour rampage on April 18th and 19th, 2020.
The gunman took the lives of 22 Nova Scotians while disguised as a Mountie driving a mock cruiser.
