Witness in criminal trial testifies that firefighters’ scuffles ‘escalated so quickly’

The first witness in the criminal trial of a former Ottawa firefighter accused of strangling a young colleague during an argument over washing dishes said the altercation initially appeared to be “consensual,” and the defendant later testified he was unaware he had momentarily had his hand around his colleague’s throat.

Eric Einagel has been charged with choking, assault occasioning bodily harm and harassment by threatening another person in connection with the incident at Fire Station 47 on Greenbank Road in Barrhaven.

Greg Wright, a captain at the same station, was charged with negligence causing bodily harm and threatening to punish the complainant, openly non-binary firefighter Ash Weaver, in order to prevent him from reporting the incident.

In an Ottawa court on Monday, the prosecution called firefighter Megan Hills for questioning.

Hills was the only female firefighter in the platoon at Station 47, where she was assigned in late 2020 or early 2021. Einagel joined the platoon in August 2022, and Weaver, who was still on probation, arrived around the same time.

Halfway through a 24-hour shift on September 14, 2022, the seven-person platoon sat down for dinner at the table in the station dining room.

Hills, who attended drill training with Einagel, testified that before dinner he “looked strange, like he was stressed,” and at the table he told her he had been feeling sick since returning from a recent firefighting competition.

“It happened so fast”

After dinner, Hills said she and Weaver were at a nearby kitchen sink, where Weaver was preparing to wash dishes, when Einagel approached and asked if he could do the chore in their place.

The fight between junior firefighters for the right to do the washing up is a “common” ritual in which they demonstrate their “willingness to work” to older workers, according to an internal Ottawa Fire Department report into the incident.

Hills said that after the second question, Einagel grabbed the counter in front of Weaver and did a “hip check” on them. Weaver pushed him away and the two “got into a little scuffle,” Hills said.

“It seemed very mutual. They gave it back equally to Eric,” Hills testified. “It was equal.”

Hills testified that Einagel told Weaver a third time, “Let me f—ing wash the dishes,” and pushed them away with both hands. Weaver pushed them away again.

It was then that the tone of the scuffle seemed to change, Hills said, twice referring to Einagel’s apparent change in demeanor as a “red fog moment.”

“It escalated so quickly that it just didn’t seem like Eric at all,” she testified. “I don’t know why it had to go that far.”

A sketch of Einagel during his trial Monday. His trial was held with a witness to the fight who testified that it escalated quickly. (Laurie Foster-MacLeod)

Einagel tried to apologize

Hills told the court that Einagel’s hand was on Weaver’s neck for no longer than a second, during which Weaver had a “wide, terrified look” on her face. Hills said she feared Weaver might continue to retaliate after Einagel let go of her.

“They just stood there and looked at Eric,” Hills said. “It didn’t look like they were done.”

To help deescalate the situation, Hills told Weaver to go to a nearby truck bay. When Hills came to check on them, Weaver was crying.

“They were clearly upset,” Hills said, adding that Weaver told her, “I don’t even know what the hell happened.”

Hills said Einagel came over twice to apologize but told him Weaver needed more time.

“I know things got out of hand,” Hills told Einagel. She then asked him if he knew he had his hand around Weaver’s neck.

“He said, ‘No, I didn’t do it,’” Hills testified. “I really wondered if he was there.”

The incident happened on September 14, 2022, at Station 47 on Greenbank Road in Barrhaven. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)

No visible injuries

Hills said that shortly after the incident, Weaver was wearing dark glasses as crews went out knocking on doors as part of the fire department’s “Wake Up!” public safety effort.

That same night, in the girls’ dorm bathroom, Hills checked Weaver for any signs of physical injury.

“I didn’t see any redness, handprints, bruising or swelling,” Hills testified.

Later that night, Weaver complained of pain and asked Hills to give them Advil, but Hills testified that Weaver had no trouble breathing or swallowing, although he had been coughing throughout the night.

Hills, who fought back tears several times during her testimony, later gave accounts of the incident to two internal affairs inquiries and a criminal investigation by Ottawa police. She said she and others interviewed were told not to discuss the matter with anyone else.

Einagel was eventually fired. Wright was suspended without pay for three days after the incident, but continues to work for Ottawa Fire Services.

The first thing Judge Mitchell Hoffman had to do Monday was find a larger courtroom because so many friends, relatives and other supporters of the defendant showed up that only half of them could fit in the smaller courtroom reserved for the trial.

The single-judge trial in the Ontario Court of Justice will resume Tuesday, when Einagel’s lawyers will cross-examine Hills.