Differing accounts of alleged fire station assault emerge in court

A witness at the trial of a former Ottawa firefighter charged with choking an openly non-binary colleague painted a starkly different picture of the accused than the one the complainant described to police, who initially investigated the incident as a hate crime.

Under cross-examination Tuesday at the Ottawa courthouse, firefighter Megan Hills denied ever hearing Eric Einagel disparage rookie Ash Weaver because of Weaver's gender identity.

Hills said she witnessed Einagel make a genuine effort to "educate himself" during what was described in court as an "open discussion" a few shifts before the incident on Sept. 14, 2022, which began as a dispute over who'd wash the dinner dishes.

Einagel is charged with choking, assault causing bodily harm and harassment by threatening conduct in relation to the incident at Fire Station 47 on Greenbank Road in Barrhaven.

Greg Wright, a captain at the same station, is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and threatening to discipline the complainant to prevent them from reporting the incident.

Weaver, who was still on a standard one-year probation, had arrived at Station 47 that July, and Einagel joined the crew that August. Both Einagel and Hills were still considered junior employees of the fire service.

A few shifts before the alleged assault, Hills, Weaver and Einagel sat down at the station's dining table for a frank discussion that Einagel's defence lawyer Dominic Lamb described as an attempt by his client to "educate himself" about gender pronouns and other terminology, and to thereby avoid "offending anyone in any way whatsoever."

This photo shows the kitchen area at Fire Station 47 where the alleged assault occurred. It was taken by Ottawa police during their investigation into the incident and entered along with more photos of the station as an exhibit at the trial of former firefighter Eric Einagel and Capt. Greg Wright. (Ottawa Police Service)

Gender discussion an 'educational moment'

Hills confirmed that there was "nothing negative" about the discussion, and agreed it was meant as an "educational moment" for Einagel, who admitted he lacked understanding in that area.

According to Lamb, that clashed with the account police investigators got from Weaver, who claimed Einagel told them being non-binary is "not a real thing," and suggested the children of non-binary people would be better off with foster parents, among other offensive remarks.

Asked by Lamb if she'd heard Einagel say "anything as horrible as that," Hills replied: "No, never."

According to Lamb, Weaver, who has yet to testify, also told police it wasn't the first time Einagel had said "some very bigoted and awful things" about them.

"He said he hates me for who I am. He's not OK with my gender and sexuality," Lamb read from Weaver's statement to police. According to Weaver, Einagel told them: "You need to change who you are. You can't be you here. You aren't going to survive at this station."

However Hills, who was standing beside Weaver and Einagel at the kitchen sink when the alleged assault occurred, testified she heard nothing even "remotely close" from Einegal, either in that moment or at any other time.

Hills also testified that Station 47 had a reputation as a respectful and welcoming place, and said no one on her crew had expressed any concerns about Weaver's posting there.

A sketch of Eric Einagel during the first day of his trial on Monday. (Laurie Foster-MacLeod)

Previous choking incident

Hills said later that night in the female dorm, Weaver did ask if she thought the incident happened because they're non-binary, but Hills assured them it had nothing to do with their sexuality.

Weaver asked similar questions "a couple times" during their brief stay at Station 47, Hill said. Asked by Lamb if Weaver seemed "fixated" on the subject, Hills replied: "I felt that that was their concern."

Lamb also asked Hills if she'd ever counselled Weaver to put the incident behind them because they "didn't want it to follow them their whole career," but Hills denied offering that advice.

Hills testified that Weaver told her the reason they were so upset by the alleged choking was that the same thing had happened to them once before, while they were working as a carpenter.

"They said it brought back that time for them," Hills testified.

Hills, who trained to become a paramedic but has not kept up her certification, examined Weaver later that night and said she found no visible injuries. She also contradicted Weaver's account of the level of violence inflicted on them during the alleged assault, testifying Monday the scuffle seemed "mutual" until Einagel placed his hand on Weaver's neck.

Nor did she see Weaver's head hit the counter or their arm "snapped" during the scuffle, Hills said.

Asked by the Crown on Tuesday to draw a diagram of that moment, Hills sketched a frontal view of a hand with its thumb and fingers wrapped around a throat. Hills testified Monday that Einagel's hand was in that position for no more than a second before the altercation ended.

Firefighter Megan Hills drew this diagram showing her recollection of the position of Einagel's hand on Weaver's neck. The drawing was entered as an exhibit in court on Tuesday. (Megan Hills)

Weaver to testify Wednesday

Hills described the fire station tradition whereby rookies and other junior crew members would compete to perform menial tasks such as doing dishes or answering the phone in the station's watch room as one that she witnessed regularly, but didn't participate in herself.

Weaver did sometimes take part, said Hills, who testified she saw the rookie "hip-check" others out of the way on several occasions, even though Weaver stands "five-three or five-four, if that."

Wasn't that "a little bit over the top?" Lamb asked.

"I'd say it depends on who they were going against, but they definitely gave it their best shot," Hills replied.

The court has yet to hear much testimony about Capt. Greg Wright, though under brief cross-examination by Wright's lawyer Joshua Clarke, Hills agreed the captain was "low-key" and "easy-going."

Hills testified that prior to Weaver's arrival that summer, Wright had briefed the platoon and told them "everybody's a firefighter, it doesn't matter gender or sexuality."

"So he was very welcoming that way," said Hills, who denied hearing any talk at the station of sweeping the alleged assault under the rug.

Hills's testimony ended Tuesday. The judge-only trial continues Wednesday morning at the Ontario Court of Justice when Weaver will take the witness stand.