Defence lawyer argues non-binary Ottawa firefighter embellished key details of alleged assault

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A defence lawyer says a rookie non-binary firefighter, who alleges they were a victim of an assault, has “exaggerated” and “embellished” details of the incident in order to make it appear as “something it never was.”

Ash Weaver maintains Eric Einagel, then a fellow firefighter, grabbed their wrists and “slammed” them into the kitchen counter before his hands went for their neck, picking up and shaking Weaver as he choked them on Sept. 14, 2022.

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Einagel now faces charges of assault causing bodily harm in choking Weaver, as well as harassment. The Crown alleges he threatened Weaver and caused them to fear for their safety. Capt. Gregory Wright, meanwhile, 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 their employment with the ultimate goal of stopping Weaver from going to police about the alleged assault.

Dominic Lamb, Einagel’s lawyer, characterized Weaver’s sworn testimony of the incident as “fantastical.”

“It’s not real,” he said, to which Weaver disagreed.

In the fifth day of a judge-alone trial before Justice Mitchell Hoffman, Lamb zeroed in on inconsistencies between Weaver’s statement to police and statements made during the city’s internal investigation of the alleged assault, as well as Weaver’s sworn testimony before the court, comparing how each account differs from statements made by some of Weaver’s fellow firefighters.

Megan Hills, another firefighter at Station 47, first told the court that Weaver and Einagel were fighting over dishes, exchanging hip-checks and shoves. Hills said Weaver was backing into Einagel in an attempt to bodycheck him, when he wrapped one hand around Weaver’s neck. Hills said Einagel’s right hand was on Weaver’s throat for only a second, and he didn’t shake, lift or slam Weaver. The assault is alleged to have happened directly in front of Hills.

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Weaver, though, maintained the extent of the alleged assault was far more violent, and that they feared for their life, and was convinced Einagle would kill them. They repeated this when pressed under cross-examination.

On Monday, Weaver said Einagel “slammed” their head into the kitchen island, something Lamb says was not mentioned in a 10-page typed police statement or Weaver’s initial testimony, nor was backed up by eyewitnesses.

“My suggestion to you is, this is another example of you embellishing what happened, to make it something it never was,” Lamb said.

“You are wrong,” Weaver replied.

Testimonies also differ as to whether Einagel placed one hand on Weaver’s neck or two, and the length and severity of the alleged choking. Weaver previously testified that Hills, the eyewitness, told Weaver that Einagel had picked them up by their neck, and that he was “lying to save his own skin,” but Hills’s testimony denies that conversation ever happened.

“Megan Hills has testified before this court that she never said to you that she saw both hands, pinning and stretching you over the sink, shaking you,” Lamb said. “Megan Hills never testified you were strangled. So is it still your evidence that Megan Hills said these things to you?”

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“Yes, that’s what I remember,” Weaver replied.

Weaver had testified that they had feared for their life following the alleged assault, and had asked other firefighters on shift to keep them safe. Testimony from other firefighters say Weaver never asked for protection.

“I suggest to you, you never asked anyone for protection, because there was no need for it,” Lamb said. “Do you disagree with that statement?”

“I believed at any moment in that shift, Eric was going to kill me, after that,” Weaver responded.

Lamb suggested this was “an example of you exaggerating what happened, to make it something it never was, Ash Weaver,” adding, “you were never in need of protection, do you agree?”

“I thought I was going to die, and I believed Eric was going to kill me,” Weaver replied after a long pause.

Lamb also suggested Weaver had exaggerated the extent of their injuries, referring to a text message sent to colleagues in which Weaver said they had “soft tissue damage, bruising, cervical spine injury, concussion, headache and nausea.”

Notes from Weaver’s trip to the emergency room 34 hours after the alleged assault, though, said X-rays came back showing no acute injuries, something Weaver disputed. They remained steadfast that they suffered from bruising and a cervical spine injury, and the “possibility” of a concussion, as well as an ear injury.

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Weaver had also testified they had been on the receiving end of hateful or ignorant comments from Einagel, as many as once or 10 times per shift. Then, moments before the alleged assault, Weaver testified Einagel said Weaver needed to “f—— stop being who I am,” among other comments, though Hills said she only heard Einagel tell Weaver, “Let me do the f—— dishes.”

Lamb, though, characterized Weaver and Einagel as having “educational conversations” about gender and sexual identity, as other witnesses testified.

“I’m really not sure how Eric took things, especially with what he was saying, right before he strangled me,” Weaver replied, adding they “don’t know why” but Einagel brought up the topic “multiple times” when the two were on shift together. Lamb suggested the topic was brought up less frequently.

“My suggestion to you is, you’re describing these interactions, these conversations, in a different way than they actually happened,” Lamb said. “You’re mischaracterizing the conversations. Do you agree with that or disagree?”

“Disagree,” Weaver replied.

Lamb also suggested Weaver was “a pretty difficult person” to work with, which they also denied.

The trial is expected to continue this week.

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