24 hours before the massacre James Smith Cree NationSkye Sanderson called 911 to report her husband, saying she was “scared” because he was known to be violent.
The next day, 11 people were killed and 18 were injured, and Skye’s husband Damien and his brother miles sandersonHe was accused of carrying out one of Canada’s worst mass murders.
Global News has obtained the full 911 call, which lasted three minutes and 44 seconds, made by Sky around 4 a.m. on September 3, and its accompanying incident report, under a Privacy Act request .
Hear the 911 call below:
The call confirms what Skye told Exclusive conversation with Global News In September: that he had asked the RCMP for help in locating Damien, believing him to be intoxicated and unstable, and had asked them to watch until they found him. But it also suggests that Skye had informed the RCMP of his violent tendencies.
“I’m scared because I have several domestic charges against him, and they haven’t been raised yet,” Skye calmly tells the operator.
Skye tells Global News that she believes she too was killed by Miles, shortly after Damian is cleared of his role in the murders. However, the RCMP said at the time that the two brothers were involved in planning the massacre.
On 3 September, Damian stole Skye’s car and was driving around, harassing her family. When the car was eventually found, Damian gave RCMP members a fake name. RCMP knew he had outstanding warrant for his arrest But did not ask for identification.
Skye says that if her warnings had been heeded and Damien had asked for identification, the murders would never have happened.
“I do (feel like they failed me). Every day,” she says.
But, she also wishes she had done more that morning.
“I should have done more than what the RCMP officers did that day. I wish they knew the fear I was going through that morning. I should have done more.
Skye and Damian Sanderson, pictured on their wedding day, Aug. 31, 2012.
The RCMP has declined to comment on the 911 call, saying they issued it in error, and the matter is currently under a coroner’s investigation. However, in October, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore confirmed that the RCMP had received an anonymous call 24 hours prior to the murders regarding a stolen car.
Hillary Peterson, a lawyer and a University of Saskatchewan College of Law lecturer, says the threshold is too high for the RCMP to ask people for identification – a practice known as “street checks” or “carding”. – and often considered illegal, the police may have a right to ask Damian’s identity in this case.
“I think it would be reasonable to suspect the person in that circumstance,” Peterson says.
However, she adds, “a hunch isn’t enough [to do a street check],
‘Not caught yet’
On September 3 at 4:03 am, Skye called 911. She told the operator that Damien had come into the house and taken his car keys.
“Now he’s driving around and he… makes couple phone calls to family members saying he’s harassing them,” Skye says, before elaborating on the make and model of his car. Like going around their houses.”
The operator asks if Damien has been drinking. While his response has been removed from the recording, the police incident report states that Skye believed he was intoxicated.
Undeterred, Skye then says that she is worried because she has outstanding domestic charges against him.
When the operator repeats her back later in the call, Skye says she doesn’t know how many allegations she has made against Damien, but adds, “I made a bunch of statements, video statements and he hasn’t caught up yet.” Has gone.”
Then she asks for her calls to remain anonymous. He refused to tell RCMP how the car was stolen.
Speaking to Global News about the audio, Skye says she did not want to share her identity because she was afraid of the two men, thinking they would come after her. The day before, she says, she saw Miles violently beating his partner, Vanessa, She says that Damian took Miles to Skye’s car to “cool off”. But he hadn’t heard from her since.
Damian and Skye Sanderson, pictured with their three children.
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Skye had reported her husband for domestic violence about a year prior to the murders.
“He was often violent but this first time was worse,” she told Global News. “He tossed me around.”
RCMP members came to her home, photographed her injuries and took her statement, says Skye, but there was no follow-up.
According to Damian’s criminal file, he had two outstanding warrants for his arrest for assault at the time of the murders: one from August 2021, and one from June 2022. The names of the victims have been withheld.
‘Why didn’t they go back and ask him for ID?’
Two RCMP officers were dispatched to the James Smith Cree Nation at 4:15 a.m. on September 3. They were aware of Damian’s outstanding arrest warrant and had a photo from 2014.
They saw Skye’s car outside the James Smith Cree Nation home around 6am. Residents allowed RCMP members inside, where they found keys on a table.
The resident told members “she was unsure how the keys got there or who put them there,” the incident report says.
At a press conference in October, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore told reporters that a group of about seven people, including three men, were inside the house. The RCMP asked the men to identify themselves, and Damian named another member, James Smith. No one was asked for identification.
When Skye arrived home to collect her car, she claimed to have informed RCMP members that Damian was with Miles, who was listed as Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers. “unlawfully at large” And was last seen in Saskatoon, about 200 km away. She says she begged him to look tough because she was worried they were going to do “something stupid”.
The RCMP denied that Miles’ name was mentioned to them that morning.
“During the first 911 report to police, or during any of the following conversations between Melfort RCMP officers and the caller on the morning of September 3, the name of Miles Sanderson, or actions, or any threats of violence were not reported to police Blackmore said in October.
The incident report stated that Sky was unwilling to make a statement or press charges and that “there was no evidence to support the theft of the vehicle.” However, Skye says that the RCMP did not offer to take her anywhere to make a statement, and she was reluctant to do so outside the house where she believed Damian and Miles were hiding.
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore speaks during a press conference with mugshots of Damian and Miles Sanderson. The Canadian Press/Michael Bell.
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Before the members try to find Damian at several alternate addresses, Skye says they showed her his photo of Damian. She says she told them it was old and that she had “put on weight.”
“After I said that, why didn’t they go back and ask for their identity cards?” she asks.
In 2018, the Saskatchewan Police Commission updated its policy “Street checking” by minority groups said they were being unfairly targeted. The new policy states that people cannot be stopped based on their race or because they are in a high crime area, and reminded the public that they are under no obligation to talk to police.
But Peterson, who lectures on criminal law and youth delinquency at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, says RCMP members may have asked for identification in this instance, given that the car was found outside the residence, with the keys inside. And Damian had a warrant out for his arrest.
However, she says, “Hindsight is 20/20.”
“To request ID from someone, it is considered a form of detention. In detaining someone, you are not enabling them to be released for investigative purposes. Do they have reasons to suggest that? evidence that this person is lying? Then you have to provide reasons for detention and the right to counsel. The question is, is this enough to detain someone? Do you have reason to detain a person? has a legal right?”
Peterson says the Saskatchewan RCMP in particular has been criticized for targeting First Nations people in identity checks, so members had to ask themselves whether all the criteria were met.
“There are various houses in this area, it is an indigenous community. They cannot go to every person’s house to ask for ID.”