Resolute Bay man made phone call to RCMP before he died, inquest hears

RESOLUTE BAY—A Resolute Bay man who barricaded himself inside his home and died with police surrounding his house had called RCMP on the day he died, witnesses told the six-person coroner’s jury on Thursday, March 12.

Silas Ulayuruluk, 46, died on Nov. 28, 2016, following a prolonged standoff with police. A coroner’s inquest presided over by Nunavut’s chief coroner, Elizabeth Copland, began in Resolute Bay on Wednesday, March 11.

Inquests are fact-finding hearings held to find the time, manner, cause and circumstances surrounding a death. Inquests do not lay blame or find guilt.

Inside a grey carpeted conference room with large, sunny windows at the South Camp Inn, the second day of the inquest heard testimony from members of the Edmonton RCMP who were deployed to Resolute Bay during the incident.

A forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Ulayuruluk and a member of the Ottawa Police Service who investigated the incident also testified.

Witnesses described Ulayuruluk as an avid hunter who cared about the environment. He also worked for the Canadian Rangers for several years and had helped with search and rescue training in the community.

Witnesses testified that the night before he died, Ulayuruluk was firing a rifle at the house across the street.

The jury also heard that Ulayuruluk had severely assaulted his common-law girlfriend with an X-Acto knife the same day.

Edmonton RCMP Superintendent Joseph Terrence McLachlan was an inspector at the time and led the emergency response team that came up from Edmonton. In this situation, McLachlan’s role was to oversee the entire operation as the critical incident commander.

McLachlan testified that he began to put together a team after the Edmonton police received a call shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 27 from Resolute Bay RCMP that a potentially armed individual was at large in the community.

Along with McLachlan, nine emergency response team members, three crisis negotiators, one service dog handler, one explosives disposal unit member and a one logistical support person flew up to Resolute Bay from Edmonton on a charter plane.

Witnesses later testified that the RCMP usually have four or five crisis negotiators, but in this case only three were deployed.

The team landed in Resolute Bay around 5:20 a.m., McLachlan testified.

McLachlan said the team’s objective was to take the suspect into custody “in the safest manner possible.”

To do that, his team contained Ulayuruluk’s house at 8:05 a.m, McLachlan said.

McLachlan said in this case, because of weather conditions, containment meant the police had positioned themselves in areas around the residence where they could observe what was going on.

“In this case we had people that were observing from points that they could see the residence … we had just a few people that were out in the elements just to be able to get some view of the doorways and where this person could come out if they did.”

In crisis situations, police will designate a primary negotiator who will attempt to make contact with the person in crisis. Witnesses testified that sometimes police will have a third party, such as a loved one, record a message to be played for the barricaded person.

In this case, negotiators locked down the phone line so if Ulayuruluk phoned out, he would only reach the RCMP’s crisis negotiators.

And at 9:10 a.m., Ulayuruluk did phone out, the jury heard. Kenneth Shamblaw, the Edmonton RCMP’s primary negotiator in this case, picked up the phone. Shamblaw testified that Ulayuruluk told him he wanted to speak to a specific local RCMP officer.

Shamblaw testified that he remained on the line with Ulayuruluk. Sheldon Toner, counsel for the coroner’s office, played the recording of the 13-minute call for the jury.

“For all the things that I’ve done…. To all the people, I just want to apologize,” Ulayuruluk can be heard saying to Shamblaw in a calm voice.

“I’m here to help you Silas. I’ll listen to you and maybe we can work some things out together,” Shamblaw said.

“I don’t think I can ask for any help…. So many people helped me out. I can’t take it anymore,” Ulayuruluk said.

“What can’t you take, Silas?” Shamblaw asked.

“Life,” Ulayuruluk said.

During the call, Ulayuruluk also expressed his appreciation for the RCMP for “helping others.” He can also be heard telling Shamblaw that he tried to end his life the night before but was unsuccessful.

“Like I said, my work is done and that’s pretty much it,” Ulayuruluk said.

Ulayuruluk told Shamblaw that he had taken “70 pills” the night before. A forensic pathologist who testified later told the jury there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in Ulayuruluk’s body, with the exception of cannabis.

On the call, Ulayuruluk also told Shamblaw that after his mother passed away, he felt that he had no one left in the community who cared about him.

After 13 minutes, Ulayuruluk hung up.

Shamblaw testified that after the call with Ulayuruluk, he believed there was still a possibility he would come out of the house.

“My goal is to save his life and get him out of the house,” Shamblaw told the jury.

“I believed that if I could still remain in contact with Silas, I was going to talk him out of that house. I was trying to get him to turn,  to come and talk to me. Even though he said he didn’t want to go on and stuff, I still believed I could talk him out of that house.”

Because of a technical issue, Shamblaw was not able to call back into the house until 13 or 14 minutes later.

The jury also heard that there is only one Inuktitut-speaking negotiator in the territory. But in this case, Shamblaw testified, language was not a barrier.

From there, the police continued to phone Ulayuruluk. He picked up twice, with the second call ending at 9:37 and lasting less than a minute, police testified.

From there, the police began loud-hailing, a tactic that involves calling to an individual using a megaphone and asking them to come out of a house or call the negotiator.

Receiving no response from inside the house, police then tried several other tactics. First, they deployed a flash bang, which makes a loud noise like a gun shot. McLachlan said that in previous cases, the flash bang has often caused subjects to call back to ask about the noise.

“A person not familiar with these tactics might ask, why would you deploy those instead of waiting it out?” Toner asked.

McLachlan said because the call with Ulayuruluk showed signs that he wanted to harm himself, they began to use tactics to get him out of the house.

Next, police deployed chemical agents into the house through a window that have similar effects to pepper spray, such as stinging eyes and shortness of breath. These tactics are also used by police to draw barricaded subjects out of the house, McLachlan said.

There was no response from the house, McLachlan said.

At 11:16 a.m., Ulayuruluk’s son walked up the house to see what was going on and was directed away from the area by RCMP. The son was also later interviewed by police, McLachlan testified.

Finally, the team deployed a small tactical robot into that would allow them to see inside, but its signal feed didn’t work in the cold weather and failed.

McLachlan said that when no response was received after another round of chemical gas was deployed, he suspected Ulayuruluk may have harmed himself and decided to send a police service dog into the house.

At 12:17, the police discovered Ulayuruluk deceased in the bathroom from what witnesses, including a forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Ulayuruluk, testified was a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a .303 calibre rifle.

Edmonton RCMP officer Cpl. Darren Mitchell testified that no one on the team heard a gunshot while the house was contained. Mitchell said because Ulayuruluk was in the bathroom, the sound could have been muffled.

Witnesses testified investigators discovered a suicide note left by Ulayuruluk on the kitchen table.

The jury heard that the RCMP had been in touch with a mental health nurse who was not aware of whether Ulayuruluk had any mental health issues. He had several criminal charges and had previously turned himself into police and spent time in prison, witnesses said.

Toner also asked Shamblaw if he had any recommendations to prevent a similar incident in the future.

“I hope we never ever have another crisis like this in Resolute Bay. But I believe there’s an opportunity. If I had a choice, I would say the town members and the detachment could get together and have someone designated as a liaison,” Shamblaw said.

Sgt. Richard Dugal of the Ottawa Police Service major crime unit is the final witness and is scheduled to testify today. Dugal ran an external review of Ulayuruluk’s death.

The inquest is expected to finish today after Dugal’s testimony. The jury will then provide its verdict and recommendations.

If you are feeling distressed or suicidal, call the Kamatsiaqtut Help Line, which is available 24 hours a day, at 1-867-979-3333 in Iqaluit, or toll free from Nunavik or Nunavut at 1-800-265-3333.