Const. Heidi Marshall, who was instrumental in the arrest of Myles Sanderson, spoke to Eddie Head, Sanderson's uncle, after her testimony. Head invited Marshall to James Smith Cree Nation. (submitted photo/Lisa Risom)

By Susan McNeil

Myles Sanderson inquest

‘I got him, I got him’: Officer recounts arrest of Myles Sanderson

Feb 27, 2024 | 5:26 PM

While Const. Heidi Marshall chased Myles Sanderson’s stolen Chevy Avalanche down Highway 11, she spent some moments thinking about what would happen to her two young children if she died.

Advanced driving technique training combined with active shooter training gave her the focus and skills to execute a highly dangerous ‘pit maneuver’ where she would push her police cruiser against the suspect’s vehicle to redirect it into the ditch.

Marshall was one of several officers testifying for the jury on the second day of a coroner’s inquest examining Sanderson’s death. The purpose of the inquest is to determine the cause of death and whether similar deaths can be prevented.

“There are some elements of my training that came into play subconsciously,” she said in testimony during day two into the coroner’s inquest into Sanderson’s death.

She said she couldn’t have explained it at the time, but in the 18 months since the incident, she had time to think over what gave her the laser focus needed.

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“Your instinct is to look all over the place. This training is the reason I’m alive,” she said. “That gets embedded in your brain whether consciously or not. When you go into combat mode, you get tunnel vision.”

Video from Marshall’s dash cam shows her coming up to the rear passenger side of the Avalanche, making gentle contact and pushing.

The suspect vehicle was pushed across both lanes of the highway and drove into the opposite ditch. That allowed RCMP to take Sanderson into custody, something they had been trying to do for three days.

“I got him, I got him,” Marshall can be heard saying on the video recording.

Marshall was dispatched from the Martensville detachment when other officers reported sightings of the Avalanche. Sanderson was confirmed to be the driver.

While Sanderson was approaching the Gas Plus at the intersection of Highways 312 and 11, Marshall was nearby and got into the chase.

Video showed the Avalanche cutting the corner behind the gas station then heading south on the north bound lane of Highway 11.

With four vehicles in pursuit, Marshall said they created a diamond formation so that all she could see was the RCMP vehicle driven by Constable Darling.

That vehicle rammed the suspect vehicle twice, but hit the bumper in the middle of the vehicle, which just pushed it further forward.

Sanderson then crossed the ditch between the north and southbound lanes with Marshall in pursuit, travelling 110 km/h through the ditch.

Darling’s vehicle continued on the northbound lane, leaving Marshall as the closest officer.

She said during the chase, she did think for a moment think about the potential for her own death if she executed the pit maneuvre.

“I have two little kids at home. When we were southbound at those high speeds, the thing I remember is what’s going to happen to my kids? Am I going to leave them without a mom?” she said, at one point breaking into tears.

“The one thing I always wanted was to be a mom. I did not want to leave my family without a mom,” she said.

When Marshall’s vehicle struck the one driven by Sanderson, it was travelling 139 km/h. Normally when the maneuvre is taught, it tops out at 80 km/h.

Speeds higher than that are extremely high risk for the officer, the suspect and the public. Marshall never received formal training on how to execute the maneuver.

Normally, the RCMP bans officers from using the pit maneuvre at all because of the danger associated with it. In this case, Marshall received a green light because of the risk Sanderson posed to the public.

Not only had he killed 11 people on the James Smith Cree Nation and injured another 17, he was risking other drivers on the highway that day.

Sanderson had escalated his aggression and was starting to aim for oncoming traffic in the moments before he crossed into the southbound lane.

By the time Marshall was behind the Avalanche in the southbound lane and the public risk was reduced, she had made up her mind.

“I didn’t think about myself. I got onto the pavement and I said I have to commit to this,” she said. “I felt like I was getting ready to die. I had to get the vehicle off the road.”

She said she thinks that more members should be trained in doing the pit maneuvre. She said other driving techniques like not slamming on brakes, avoiding how to oversteer and holding steering wheels correctly is taught in the advanced driving class.

During the family questions after the main part of her testimony, Marshall was invited to the James Smith community to help with putting the incident to rest.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com