Captain denies non-binary firefighter told not to report altercation

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The fire captain accused of covering up an alleged assault at a Barrhaven fire station denies a rookie non-binary firefighter ever asked for medical attention following the altercation on Sept. 14, 2022, and he never discouraged them from reporting the incident.

In fact, Capt. Gregory Wright told the court that, following the altercation between Ash Weaver and Eric Einagel, he asked if Weaver wanted to report it to higher-ups in Ottawa Fire Services.

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“I said, ‘Do you want to follow up, go through chain of command?’ And they said, ‘No, I’d like to keep it within the station,’” Wright testified Thursday in the judge-alone trial before Justice Mitchell Hoffman.

Wright is on trial on a charge of threatening to discipline Weaver if they reported the incident to police, though the Crown withdrew a charge of negligence causing bodily harm earlier in the trial.

Einagel, 39, is is accused of assault causing bodily harm and choking against Weaver, with a charge of criminal harassment having been withdrawn.

Einagel testified he and Weaver fought over doing the crew’s dinner dishes, typically a duty left to the most junior firefighter.

Einagel’s account of the altercation was that the two exchanged hip-checks and shoves, with Einagel blocking Weaver’s attempt at a “football tackle” by pushing them away with an open-palm shove on their shoulder.

Weaver, meanwhile, testified that Einagel went for their neck, not their shoulder, picking up and shaking Weaver as he choked them. Weaver testified Einagel said they “wouldn’t last” around the fire station, that they “wouldn’t fly” at other stations and that they “had to change” who they were, which Einagel denied.

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Wright testified he was standing about eight feet from Einagel and Weaver and was talking to another firefighter about his chickens. Wright says he didn’t see anything happen between the two firefighters, only noticing when Weaver left the kitchen. Other firefighters told Wright that Weaver was OK, but needed space.

“Nobody told me they were choked, that they were hurt,” Wright said when asked why he didn’t report the incident to platoon chief Scott Grakist for three days. “They all told me Ash was OK.”

Wright agreed that the dish fight between Einagel and Weaver got out of hand, but “not too far out of hand” because other crew members said Weaver was fine.

Later in the shift, following the altercation, Wright said he met with Weaver in a supply closet and asked again if they were OK.

“They said they were OK, good to go, gave me a thumbs-up,” Wright said.

Weaver previously testified that, when the two met in the closet, Wright discouraged them from going to hospital and also discouraged them from reporting the incident, both of which Wright resoundingly denied. Wright also denied closing the door to the supply closet and turning off the lights, as Weaver testified.

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“I told him I wanted X-rays. I wanted to know I was OK,” Weaver testified earlier in the trial. “I didn’t feel OK.”

READ MORE: Non-binary Ottawa firefighter testifies of fearing for life during alleged assault

Wright said that, as captain, he could have sent Weaver home if he believed they were injured, unfit for duty or in “obvious” mental health distress.

“There was no indication it was obvious,” he said.

The fire service’s unwritten policy of “horseplay,” with junior firefighters getting physical in competition over tasks, has been scrutinized throughout the trial. Wright characterized it as a way to relieve tension and stress on the job, though he said “hazing” had become less common over the years.

“Since 1998, I’ve been lit on fire in the station,” he said. “That doesn’t happen anymore. That stuff is done.”

A March 2023 email to officers from deputy fire chief David Matschke was submitted as evidence in the trial. The email said all horseplay would immediately cease at all fire stations, citing the incident on Sept. 14, 2022. Wright characterized the email as higher-ups “covering their butts.”

Wright said horseplay and rough-housing still happened at fire stations, but firefighters were now “nervous to go to work, on pins and needles, afraid of what could happen.”

The trial was expected to continue on Friday.

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