Non-binary Ottawa firefighter testifies captain discouraged reporting of alleged assault

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A rookie non-binary firefighter testified Thursday that their captain discouraged them from going to hospital after an alleged assault and also discouraged them from reporting the incident that made them fear for their lives.

On the witness stand on the fourth day of a judge-alone trial for Eric Einagel and Gregory Wright, Ash Weaver, the complainant, said Wright told them they shouldn’t report what happened as it would be “blown out of proportion” by human resources and could follow them for the rest of their career.

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That firefighting career was one Weaver “had worked so long and hard for,” they told the court, characterizing it as “a dream job.”

But that dream soured when Einagel allegedly put his hands on Weaver’s neck in what has been described as either horseplay that got out of hand or a brutal moment of violence, depending on the witness.

Einagel is accused 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.

Wright, captain of the crew, 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.

Weaver previously testified that Einagel had 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.

Megan Hills, another firefighter at Station 47, told the court that Weaver and Einagel were fighting over dishes, exchanging hipchecks and shoves, with Weaver giving as good as they got. Hills said Einagel’s right hand was on Weaver’s throat “just for 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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Later on the shift, Weaver said they were again frightened for their life when they met in a supply closet with Wright, who turned off the light in the small room. Weaver said they were in pain and wanted to go to the hospital or at least wanted paramedics to come to the station to check them out.

“I told him I wanted X-rays. I wanted to know I was OK,” Weaver said. “I didn’t feel OK.”

Wright, though, said that the situation wouldn’t be reported, that he’d spoken to the whole crew and that the matter would “stay in-station,” according to Weaver.

“He told me I wasn’t the first person to be choked out. He’d been choked out. Other people had been assaulted,” Weaver said. “He said we don’t report on our brothers and sisters, we can work this out among the crew.”

That was enough to keep Weaver quiet for a few days, but by their next shift, a few days following the alleged assault, they spoke to the fire service’s safety officer and other higher-ups, then made a police report the following week.

Cross-examination focused on Weaver’s recollection of certain details, such as where each firefighter was sitting around the dinner table and how Weaver and Einagel interacted moments before the alleged assault.

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Weaver previously testified that Einagel had been giving them a “death stare” over the dinner table and they had asked Einagel multiple times if he was OK, to which he gave no response. Another firefighter nudged Einagel and told him to knock it off, Weaver said. Dominic Lamb, Einagel’s lawyer, said statements given to police, and other witnesses, conflicted with Weaver’s telling.

“We’ve already heard evidence in this case from Megan Hills that she never saw anything like this,” Lamb said. “My suggestion to you is what you’re telling us about this is false, Ash Weaver.”

Weaver responded it “definitely did happen.”

Lamb further disputed that Weaver had asked if Einagel was OK, referencing a report from the city’s internal investigation into the matter, which said it was Einagel who asked if Weaver was OK.

“That’s diametrically opposed to what you told us today,” Lamb said, but Weaver maintained that they were the one who had asked, not Einagel.

“Why would you ever ask him that? Why would you ask the guy that hates you, ‘Are you good?’” Lamb asked. “Do you agree with me that doesn’t make a lot of sense, given the relationship, how you’ve described at this point?”

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Weaver responded they asked Einagel that “because of of the way he was looking at me,” and said Einagel was “confused” about Weaver’s non-binary identity.

“But your evidence up until this point, as I understand, it wasn’t that he didn’t understand you. It’s that he hated you,” Lamb said. “He called you a d—, not a real mother, said your child should be put in foster care. It just doesn’t make any sense, to call that a misunderstanding.”

Weaver said they thought it was a misunderstanding until the fight at the sink escalated, at which point they believed Einagel “wanted to kill me for who I was,” but before that, “I thought he didn’t like me, really didn’t understand who I was.”

In court, Weaver said Einagel called them a lesbian, but in the internal investigation Weaver told higher-ups that Einagel used a slur for lesbians.

“It came up more than once,” Weaver said in response to Lamb’s questioning about the discrepancy in terminology. “There were many different ways he said it.”

Lamb also characterized the physicality around the station, saying Weaver had previously used a “football-type” tackle again Einagel. Weaver, previously a member of Canada’s national team for Australian Football, denied ever using their football training at the fire hall. Weaver said they recalled pushing and shoving fellow firefighters over chores, but didn’t remember specific cases. They maintained the case with Einagel on Sept. 14, 2022, was “so different” than previous instances of rough-housing.

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Lamb suggested Weaver avoided Einagel for the rest of their shift following the alleged assault because Weaver was embarrassed to have lost the physical battle, but Weaver maintained it was because they feared for their life.

Following the alleged assault, Weaver said they gave primary care of their child over to their ex and were still dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m not the same person,” they said. “I had to move out of the city to not be so scared for my life. For a job I’ve wanted so badly, I can’t even imagine going back to it now.”

The trial for Wright and Einagel is expected to continue next week.

With files from Postmedia News

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