Accused in Nunavut RCMP slaying was top shot: captain
The Nunavut man accused of shooting an RCMP officer to death two years ago was a top shot in his Canadian Ranger patrol, according to the man's former captain.
Pingoatuk (Ping) Kolola, 39, has been on trial this week in the Nov. 5, 2007, death of Const. Douglas Scott in Kimmirut, located on Baffin Island.
Scott, 20, was investigating a complaint of a drunk driver in Kimmirut when he was fatally shot while in his parked RCMP truck.
On Friday, Canadian Rangers Capt. Neal Whitman told the Nunavut Court of Justice that Kolola was a member of the Rangers from 1994 until 2007, when Kolola was discharged shortly after his arrest.
The Canadian Rangers are part-time reservists who volunteer to provide a military presence in remote, isolated and coastal communities in Canada.
Citing old service records, Whitman testified that Kolola was regularly the top shot in the Rangers' Kimmirut patrol.
For example, Kolola hit 47 out of 50 targets in a marksmanship competition in 1996, Whitman said. While the distance of the shots may have varied, he said the standard distance is 100 yards.
The jury heard late Thursday from RCMP forensics specialist Sgt. Ernie Dechant, who was dispatched to Kimmirut to gather evidence from the scene where Scott was killed.
Dechant presented a video of the construction site where Scott's body was found, as well as photographs of the inside and outside of Scott's police vehicle.
Letter found in apartment
Dechant then investigated Kolola's apartment, where the accused stayed until he was arrested. He found, among other things, a white envelope stuffed in the cushion of a living room chair.
The envelope contained $140 in cash, a bank card, and a personal identification number (PIN) scrawled with orange crayon on a torn piece of paper, Dechant said.
Also inside the envelope was a handwritten letter that Dechant took out of the evidence bag and read aloud to the court.
"From Ping, to all the ones I love ... I didn't plan for this. It just happened and for this I am deeply sorry," the letter stated in part.
The letter named some of Kolola's family members. At the bottom, it said, "To my yet-to-be-born son, I'm very sorry you won't be able to grow up with your father."
In a first since the trial began Monday, Kolola showed emotion in the courtroom as the letter was read aloud.
The 12-person jury hearing Kolola's trial in the Iqaluit courthouse has been released for the weekend, with seven of the jurors returning home to Kimmirut.
Before they were let go, Justice Robert Kilpatrick instructed them not to speak to anyone about what they've heard inside the courtroom.
The trial resumes Monday. It is expected to run for another week or two.