Non-binary firefighter wanted alleged assault kept quiet, captain testifies

The Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) captain who was in charge of the station where a firefighter allegedly assaulted and choked a non-binary crewmate testified Thursday it was the complainant — not he — who initially asked the matter not be reported up the chain of command.

Capt. Greg Wright was testifying for the first time during the judge-alone trial, which is nearing the end of its third week at the Ottawa Courthouse.

Wright, 58, is charged with threatening to discipline rookie firefighter Ash Weaver to prevent them from reporting the incident at Station 47 on Greenbank Road in Barrhaven.  A second charge of criminal negligence causing bodily harm was withdrawn earlier in the trial.

Former Ottawa firefighter Eric Einagel is charged with assault causing bodily harm and assault by choking. A third charge of harassment by threatening conduct was also dropped earlier.

The court has heard that on Sept. 14, 2022, Einagel and Weaver got into a physical confrontation in the station's kitchen over who would wash the dinner dishes that evening, and that such "horseplay" was common among junior firefighters who would compete to perform menial tasks as a way of demonstrating their initiative.

Weaver testified that during the altercation at the kitchen sink, Einagel choked them with both hands, a claim Einagel has denied.

Ottawa firefighter Ash Weaver, right, walks with Sgt. Ali Toghrol of the Ottawa Police Service's hate and bias crime unit near the Ottawa Courthouse on May 8, 2024. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

'I thought they were fine'

Under questioning from his lawyer Joshua Clarke, Wright testified that he neither saw nor heard the brief melee as he stood at a nearby compost bin chatting with another firefighter, his back turned to Einagel and Weaver. Wright said by the time he turned around, Weaver was exiting the room toward the truck bay.

While some of the crew members went to check on Weaver, Wright said others gave him an account of what they'd seen.

"I didn't really think too much other than them being upset at losing the pushing at the sink," Wright testified. "I was told they were OK, they were fine ... so I thought they were fine."

Wright said he never approached Weaver in the truck bay, and they never told him they were injured and needed medical attention.

Later, as the crew set out on a door-to-door public education campaign, Wright said he noticed Weaver was wearing sunglasses so he asked if they were OK. They replied they were fine and just needed a few minutes, he testified.

On their way back to the station, the crew of the pumper truck — Wright, Weaver, firefighter Adam Martin and Einagel behind the wheel — responded to a minor "pot on stove" call where he saw Weaver ignore Einagel's advice about the proper placement of a fan.

"It looked like Ash was angry and was just ignoring him," Wright said, explaining his later decision to move Einagel to the ladder truck. "I can't have two members of the crew not talking. It's just not safe."

Ottawa police investigators took this photo of the supply closet at Station 47 where Weaver said Wright advised them not to report the alleged assault that had occurred earlier that evening. On Thursday, Wright testified that was Weaver's request, not his. (Ottawa Police Service)

Closet conversation

After taking care of some business, Wright said he went to look for Weaver and found them sitting in a chair in a utility closet off the truck bay.

Weaver testified earlier that Wright entered the room, closed the door and shut off the lights.

"I told the captain that Eric wants to kill me for who I am, I told the captain how I was in pain, how I want to go to the hospital," Weaver testified May 9. "The captain was saying this is not going to be reported, this is going to stay in station," Weaver said.

On Thursday, Wright told a very different story.

He testified that the lights stayed on and the door remained open during the brief conversation in the closet, and said Weaver told him they were "good to go" and gave him a thumbs-up when he asked how there were doing.

"I asked if they'd like to follow it up through the chain of command and they said, 'No, I'd like to keep it in the station,'" he said.

Weaver did report the incident to OFS safety officer Cheryl Hunt, who on Sept. 17, 2022, reported it to Scott Grakist, a platoon chief. Grakist then reported it to deputy chief David Matschke, who met with Weaver two days later, and would later steer the internal OFS investigation.

Earlier in his testimony, Wright testified that "dish fights" between junior firefighters like the one that set off this chain of events were a "daily occurrence" at most OFS stations, but he never saw anyone take it too far or get injured.

"Horseplay helps relieve the stress of sitting there waiting for a call," he said.

Wright said he'd never seen Weaver engage in a fight over dishes, but had seen them hip-check another firefighter into a door frame in a race to answer a phone. Others have testified that the altercation between Weaver and Einagel appeared "mutual," and the court has heard that the two had jostled over dishes before without incident.

Wright arrived at Station 47 on June 1, 2022, about one month before Weaver's arrival and two months before Eric Einagel's. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)

Rookie was 'stand-offish'

Wright, who was posted to Station 47 on June 1, 2022, said he received a call from Grakist later that month telling him that Weaver, who was on a standard one-year probation, would soon arrive there as part of their rotation. Wright said the platoon chief offered him the opportunity to transfer to a different station if he had any problem with welcoming a non-binary rookie.

"I said there wouldn't be a problem," Wright testified.

Asked about Weaver's demeanour at the station, Wright said they seemed "guarded" and "stand-offish."

"They just didn't seem to want to become part of the crew. That's what it seemed like," Wright said.

Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Siobhain Wetscher, Wright, who is due to retire in 2026, said he called Grakist on the Saturday morning after the incident when Weaver didn't show up for their shift. He said that's when he first heard about the choking allegation.

"No one told me they were choked, no one told me they were hurt. They told me they were OK," he insisted.

Wetscher suggested Wright called Grakist in a "moment of panic" when he heard Weaver was off, because he suddenly realized he should have acted sooner.

"That's incorrect," Wright said, adding that he trusted his crew's account of what had happened in the kitchen.

This photo shows the kitchen area at Fire Station 47 where the alleged assault occurred. It was taken by Ottawa police during their investigation into the incident. (Ottawa Police Service)

Witnesses heap praise on accused

On Wednesday morning, Einagel's defence team called three additional witnesses before wrapping up their case.

Kyrianne Mills, a trans woman and firefighter-paramedic in Fort McMurray, Alta., who worked with Einagel there from 2016 to 2019, testified via Zoom.

Mills, who said she was "actively transitioning" when Einagel arrived, testified she'd never seen him act in a hateful or ignorant manner toward any member of the LGBTQ community.

"[Eric was] always quite accepting and open. He was approachable, inquisitive, kind, made himself known as a safe person to be around," Mills told the court.

Einagel's sister-in-law Sarah Vachand offered similar testimony. Vachand, who's married to Einagel's sister, called Einagel a "wonderful uncle" to their two daughters and "a great ally and friend to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community."

"Eric is kind, he's caring, he's thoughtful, he's supportive and he's respectful. Eric looks at everyone and treats everyone equally," Vachand testified. "I've never heard anything hateful or ignorant out of his mouth, or seen it from his actions."

Koert Winkel, who was acting lieutenant at Station 47 during Einagel's first shift there on Aug. 1, 2022, offered an eyewitness account of an earlier scuffle between Einagel and Weaver over the dinner dishes.

Winkel, who's been with OFS for 18 years, called such "jostling" between junior firefighters over menial chores "a rite of passage" that helped build "esprit de corps" — or a spirit of solidarity — among the rank and file.

On that occasion, Winkel said, Einagel began washing the dishes and it was Weaver who challenged him, twice charging at Einagel in a manner Winkel called "incredibly aggressive." Einagel relented and allowed Weaver to take over the dishes, Winkel said.

Under cross-examination, Winkel said he never reported the incident, nor did he speak with either firefighter about it.

Cross-examination of Wright continues Friday morning. Closing submissions could come Friday afternoon.