Captain discouraged reporting alleged assault: Ottawa firefighter

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A nonbinary rookie firefighter testified Thursday that their captain discouraged them from going to the hospital after an alleged assault and also discouraged them from reporting the incident that left them fearing for their lives.

On the witness stand on the fourth day of the single-judge trial for Eric Einagel and Gregory Wright, Ash Weaver, the complainant, said Wright told them they should not report what happened because it would be “blown out of proportion” by human action. . resources and could follow them for the rest of his career.

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Weaver “had worked long and hard” for that firefighting career, they told the court, characterizing it as “a dream job.”

But that dream soured when Einagel allegedly put his hands on Weaver’s neck in what has been described as either an antics that got out of control or a brutal moment of violence, depending on the witness.

Einagel is charged with assault causing bodily harm by choking Weaver, as well as harassment. The Crown alleges he threatened Weaver and caused them to fear for her safety.

Wright, captain of the crew, is accused of failing to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm against Weaver, as well as disciplining Weaver or threatening to do so and adversely affecting his employment with the ultimate goal of preventing Weaver from going to the police about the incident. alleged crime. assault.

Weaver previously testified that Einagel had grabbed their wrists and “slammed” them against the kitchen counter before his hands went to her neck, lifting and shaking Weaver as he strangled them.

Megan Hills, another firefighter at Station 47, told the court that Weaver and Einagel were fighting over plates, exchanging hip thrusts and shoves, with Weaver doing her best. Hills said Einagel’s right hand was on Weaver’s throat “only for a second” and that she did not shake, lift or hit Weaver. The assault is alleged to have occurred directly in front of Hills.

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Later in the shift, Weaver said they again feared for their lives when they encountered Wright in a supply closet, who turned off the light in the small room. Weaver said they were in pain and wanted to go to the hospital or at least wanted paramedics to come to the station to check them out.

“I told him I wanted x-rays. I wanted to know he was okay,” Weaver said. “I didn’t feel good.”

Wright, however, said the situation would not be reported, that he had spoken to the entire crew, and that the matter would “remain at the station,” according to Weaver.

“He told me I wasn’t the first person they suffocated. They had strangled him. Other people had been assaulted,” Weaver said. “He said that we don’t report on our brothers and sisters, that we can resolve this among the crew.”

That was enough to keep Weaver quiet for a few days, but on their next shift, a few days after the alleged assault, they spoke to the fire service security officer and other superiors, and then made a police report the following week.

Cross-examination focused on Weaver’s recollection of certain details, such as where each firefighter was sitting around the table and how Weaver and Einagel interacted moments before the alleged assault.

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Weaver previously testified that Einagel had been giving them a “death glare” throughout the table and they had asked Einagel several times if he was okay, to which he did not respond. Another firefighter elbowed Einagel and told him to leave him, Weaver said. Dominic Lamb, Einagel’s lawyer, said statements given to police and other witnesses contradicted what Weaver said.

“We’ve already heard evidence in this case from Megan Hills that she never saw anything like this,” Lamb said. “My suggestion to you is that what you are telling us about this is false, Ash Weaver.”

Weaver responded that it “definitely happened.”

Lamb further disputed that Weaver had asked if Einagel was okay, referencing a report from the city’s internal investigation into the matter, which said it was Einagel who asked if Weaver was okay.

“That’s diametrically opposed to what he told us today,” Lamb said, but Weaver maintained that they were the ones who had asked, not Einagel.

“Why would you ask him that? Why would you ask the guy who hates you, ‘Are you any good?’” Lamb asked. “Do you agree with me that it doesn’t make much sense, given the relationship, how you’ve described it up to this point?”

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Weaver responded that they asked Einagel that “because of the way he looked at me” and said Einagel was “confused” about Weaver’s non-binary identity.

“But your evidence up to this point, as I understand it, was not that he didn’t understand you. It’s just that he hated you,” Lamb said. “He called you ad—, not a real mother, he said your son should be put in foster care. “It just doesn’t make any sense to call that a misunderstanding.”

Weaver said they thought it was a misunderstanding until the fight in the sink escalated, at which point they believed Einagel “wanted to kill me for what I was,” but before that, “I thought he didn’t like me, not really.” “I don’t understand who I was.”

In court, Weaver said Einagel called them lesbians, but in the internal investigation Weaver told her superiors that Einagel used a slur for lesbians.

“It came up more than once,” Weaver said in response to Lamb’s question about the discrepancy in terminology. “There were a lot of different ways she said it.”

Lamb also characterized the physicality around the station, saying that Weaver had previously used a “football-type” tackle again against Einagel. Weaver, formerly a member of Canada’s Australian national football team, denied using his football training in the fire hall. Weaver said he remembered pushing and shoving other firefighters during household chores, but did not remember specific instances. They maintained that the case with Einagel on September 14, 2022 was “very different” from previous cases of violence.

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Lamb suggested that Weaver avoided Einagel for the rest of his shift after the alleged assault because Weaver was ashamed of losing the physical battle, but Weaver maintained it was because they feared for his life.

After the alleged assault, Weaver said they turned over primary care of their son to their ex and were still dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m not the same person,” they said. “I had to move out of the city so I wouldn’t fear so much for my life. For a job I’ve wanted so much, I can’t even imagine doing it again now.”

Wright and Einagel’s trial is expected to continue next week.

With files from Postmedia News

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