Alberta Mountie admits he mishandled 911 call from woman killed by boyfriend

EDMONTON – An RCMP officer says he should have handled the case differently of a northern Alberta woman who called 911 and was later killed by her boyfriend.

Const. Devon Bateman says the 911 operator didn’t pass on important information about the call from Brenda Moreside in High Prairie in 2005.

He told the inquiry into Moreside’s death that it sounded like a mischief complaint, not domestic violence.

He also admits that as a junior officer in High Prairie, his inexperience caused him not to ask Brenda Moreside more questions, including whether she wanted to go to a women’s shelter.

He says he should have done a criminal record check on the boyfriend and made the two-minute drive to the house to help resolve the dispute.

The inquiry has heard that Moreside called 911 because her boyfriend had broken a window and she didn’t want him in the home.

The officer has testified that he called Moreside to talk about her concerns over the window but determined Stanley Willier couldn’t be charged or removed from the home.

He says he now understands destruction of property in a relationship does constitute domestic violence.