B.C. hostage inquest: Officer in charge testifies [Video]

The officer in charge when police in Surrey, B.C., killed a hostage taker and the woman he was holding says he believes he did everything possible to save her.

RCMP Insp. Blair White told a coroner’s inquest on Wednesday the suspect, Randy Crosson, gave officers a deadline on when he would kill Nona McEwan, and a mental-health professional working with police believed the man wanted to die.

White took the jury through police actions during the nine-hour standoff that dragged into the early morning hours of March 29, 2019.

The RCMP emergency response team was in charge of the scene around the house after police received reports that Crosson was inside with a gun.

An armoured vehicle was parked on the home’s front lawn so officers could use a loud speaker to speak with Crosson.

White said the suspect pointed a pistol out the window and police heard what they …