True and Fascinating Canadian History
Honouring the RCMP's Sesquicentennial: 1873 - 2023
Abandoned Detachment
And The Murders in Nova Scotia
April 18th and 19th, 2020
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
This truly is Canadian history. The murder of 22 people in Nova Scotia over the weekend of April 18th and 19th, 2020 was the largest criminal case of its kind in Canadian history, but a secondary focus of attention was the failed leadership by Nova Scotia's Commanding Officer RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman. Her absenteeism management style will forever be described as one of indifference, abandonment and detachment. At a critical time when leadership was needed the most, she was oblivious and unconcerned to what was happening at the moment in rural Nova Scotia. In the midst of bedlam and murder she went to sleep. To Canadians, and to Nova Scotians in particular, her inclination to doze off at a time of crisis appeared contradictory to the worldwide motto of dedicated, professional and noble police officers which is to serve.
The Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) Report will be released in March, 2023 and the failures of Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman to respond to the crisis after she was told about the murders will likely be given its most attention. Her total disengagement and her withdrawal of professional responsibilities is a mystery. Canadian Press journalist Keith Doucette quoted Bergerman who told the MCC that, "She was first notified something was happening in the community at around 11 p.m. on April 18, before she went to bed. She confirmed she learned the next morning about killer Gabriel Wortman's replica car but was "stunned" when she saw it on the news, shortly before she left home to head to her office around 9:30 a.m." (Doucette: 2022). It appears that Assistant Commissioner Bergerman was in a relaxed and somewhat nonchalant mood when she reached Halifax RCMP Headquarters around mid morning Sunday, April 19th, but unknown to her the killer was about to shoot and wound Constable Chad Morrison at that precise minute and only moments afterwards he would also shoot and kill Constable Heidi Stevenson.
At no time did Bergerman feel a sense of urgency to respond to the emergency even though several people had been murdered overnight, some deceased victims could not be found, survivors were visibly distraught and mourning, a dozen or so RCMP constables and NCO's were burdened with numerous crime scenes which required protection, and they were all abandoned and without leadership or real direction, investigators were overwhelmed by the unbelieveable magnitude of the crime, and the killer who was driving a fake RCMP cruiser and dressed as a member of the RCMP had not yet been captured. For all of that, Lee Bergerman was an Assistant Commissioner without a cause and a Commanding Officer without a concern.
The failures of Assistant Commissioner Bergerman have not all been made public, but surely questions will also be asked about how she was ever promoted to the Officer level, or who selected her to the important role of Commanding Officer in Nova Scotia in the first place? Nova Scotians will remember RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman solely by her failures as a police officer and that may be unfortunate, but at the same time, new generations of Canadians will have sufficient reason to be skeptical of RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and how she selects police leaders in the future for senior positions in the RCMP.
Lee Bergerman joined the Force in 1986. After she graduated from the 'Depot' Academy in Regina, SK, she was posted to British Columbia. Interestingly, she received a Commission to the rank of Inspector in 2007, and subsequently she was promoted again to Superintendent and once again to Chief Superintendent. She spent 2.5 years as the Officer in Charge of the RCMP Halifax District. In 2019, she was promoted again to the rank of Assistant Commissioner and appointed by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to the role of Commanding Officer (CO) of Nova Scotia. Bergerman replaced Assistant Commissioner Brian Brennan who was transferred to Ottawa. As it turned out, and unquestionably due to her obvious absenteeism during the murders, the RCMP today openly regrets Bergerman's appointment to a senior RCMP position in Nova Scotia.
It was during Bergerman's tenure as the Commanding Officer in Nova Scotia that the murders took place, but the reasons for her to appear as a witness before the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) are not clear. For instance, when describing the crisis, Bergerman told MCC listeners that, "It was an extraordinary event" (Doucette: 2022) however, her assessment about the severity of the emergency is questionable because she was absent from duty during the entire crisis, and instead had chosen to stay home, go to bed and fall asleep. Canadians are naturally asking themselves, "If she was not present in the moment how would she know that it was an extraordinary event?"
Lee Bergerman was ill suited for her role as the Commanding Officer and her deficiencies were obvious and quite evident on TV after the emergency which arose in Nova Scotia over the April 18th and 19th 2020 weekend. Her timidity, lack of education, lack of confidence in front of the microphone, lack of sophistation and appitude to address police issues related to the murders, and her naivity about whatever the RCMP did well or failed to do during the police operation were painful to watch. She did not exhibit confidence in public, but she could have opted to say on TV that she was truly sorry for her failures and her lack of leadership, for being inattentive to all her subordinates, and she was committed to meeting and listening to the Nova Scotia community about their needs, and the needs of all RCMP employees. She could have said on air waves that fostering good relationships between municipal police agencies in Nova Scotia and the RCMP would be given her top priority. She could have looked into the camera and said to Canadians that it was time for the RCMP to repair itself. She failed to say anything about improving relationships with her constables and NCO's, about regular and meaningful visits to Detachments or about goal-based policing. She might have said she intended to set an example for the RCMP and publish her professional goals in public and on-line. But she didn't.
After the murders, several senior RCMP Officers complained about Bergerman's lack of ability to overall manage the police operation, and it wasn't long before the accusations reached influential ears at RCMP Headquaters in Ottawa. Bergerman testified before the Mass Casualty Commission that, "...she was aware some senior officers in H-Division had made complaints about her performance following the shooting rampage. She said her immediate supervisor in Ottawa, Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan, told her in the fall of 2020 about the criticism." (Doucette: 2022). In light of negative comments from other Officers in Halifax and elsewhere, some of which were undoubtedly factual, Begerman's mind likely turned to retirement.
The murders in Nova Scotia stand out as the largest criminal case of its kind throughout Canadian history. Lee Bergerman was the Commanding Officer, but she failed in her responsibilities due primarily to her absenteeism, and her lack of leadership skills. It is a very sad commentary on the RCMP, but Bergerman does not stand alone in her failures. Although Bergerman is at the extreme poor end of the goal spectrum, she represents some, but not all RCMP Officers who are filled with bluster, but who cannot identify a single goal associated with policing which they have accomplished and made public. But to the point, and it certainly applied after the murders of three RCMP constables in New Brunswick and it will also become apparent in the Nova Scotia situation and it's this. After a crisis of any sort in which the RCMP is involved it simply stuns Canadians about the wholesale list of deficiencies which the RCMP had to overcome -- from the absence of superivsors in the field to inadequate phone service, and the lack of equipment. How is it that so many things are left undone in the modern era inside the RCMP and for so long? In other words, what are senior RCMP Officers doing with their time to overcome real shortfalls? What are Commanding Officers doing with their time to eliminate obstacles facing their subordinates? Does anyone inside the RCMP ever ask another, "Show me what you accomplished today?"
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan was dispatched to visit Lee Bergerman in her Halifax office after the murders. Their discussions were private, but after their meeting and not too surprisingly Bergerman decided to retire. Her last day in 2022 was just three weeks prior to the launch of the Mass Casualty Commission.
In the weeks and months after the murders, Assistant Commissioner Bergerman may well have suffered from some ill side effects related to stress including depression and lack of sleep and these symptons are all very understandable. She is not alone. Every RCMP member in Nova Scotia who was touched by this crisis has likely turned to medical assistance, and full recovery for some people may take years.
I do not hold any animosity toward Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, and I wish her only good health and brighter days ahead.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
September 6, 2022
Doucette, Keith. Atlantic News. N.S. shooting inquiry: Senior RCMP member says police need more resources. August 23, 2022.
The Canadian Press. RCMP drop top officers’ husbands from team liaising with N.S. mass shooting inquiry. July 23, 2021
