Thursday’s proceedings at the Dunphy Inquiry focused on two police officers who were assigned to the protective services unit at the same time as Const. Joe Smyth.
Both officers said visiting people’s homes as part of a threat assessment was rare, but it was a part of the job.
The Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Death of Donald Dunphy is looking into all the circumstances surrounding an incident on Easter Sunday, 2015, when Smyth shot and killed Dunphy.
Smyth was assessing a potential threat against Davis, based on postings made on Twitter. Smyth went to Dunphy’s home to speak to him about his tweets, and according to Smyth, Dunphy became agitated and pointed a rifle at him.
At that point, Smyth says he shot and killed Dunphy in self-defence.
Thursday’s testimony was from RNC Const. Ed Benoit and RCMP Cpl. Doug Noel, two other officers who worked in the protective services unit. Noel was the only other officer in the unit at the time when Smyth shot Dunphy.
Both officers described Smyth as calm and professional.
When it came to home visits and how to go about assessing potential threats, both Benoit and Noel said they didn’t have any firm protocols on when or how to go about home visits.
At the end of the day, Justice Leo Barry, who is leading the inquiry, said Thursday marked the halfway point for the inquiry’s hearings. He said depending on how you look at it, “it’s all downhill from here.”