'Tweet was a concern, not a perceived threat,' says former premier's aide at Dunphy inquiry

Donna Ivey was asked to square what she said at the inquiry with what she said in the days after Don Dunphy'sApril 2015 shooting death when she was cross-examined at the inquiry Tuesday.

Erin Breen, a St. John's lawyer who represents the Dunphy family, suggested there is a conflict betweenhow Ivey, a former stafffer in the office of then premier Paul Davis, described how she interpreted Dunphy's tweets on Monday and what she said just two days after Dunphy was shot.

"You thought the tweetwas a threat?" asked Breen.

Iveyforwarded the tweet last tweet referring to "2 prick dead MHAs" to Const. Joe Smyth, a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer who was working at the time in the premier's protective unit.

Breenpointed to a transcript of what Ivey said to police days afterDunphy was shot. On April 7, 2015, the tweet was described to police as a potential threat.

However, in a subsequent statement to CBC News, Smythsaid police did not share this view.

"At no point did I or members of the RNC interpret any of Mr Dunphy's social media commentary as threats," Smythwrote on Sept. 16, 2016.

Workers Compgave Dunphy contact detailsto police

Tom Mahoney, the executive director of worker services atthe Workplace Health,Safety& CompensationCommissionofNewfoundland and Labrador,was the inquiry's second witness on Tuesday.

Smyth contacted him for Don Dunphy's contact information before he drove to Mitchells Brook.

Mahoneydefended his decision to pass Dunphy's personal information to Smyth.

BreenaskedMahoney if he had read the series of Dunphy's April 3 tweets.

After hesaid "no," Breen asked Mahoneyto read them. She asked him if he had done this at the time, would he have given Dunphy's personal information to Smyth?

"Yes," responded Mahoney,adding thathe understood it was thepolice asking for the information.

Breenasked him if he agreed that,read in context, the tweets are "clearly not a threat."

He responded "no," and added that he believedthe tweetwarranteda followup.

First day of testimony was emotional, controversial

During the first day of testimony on Monday, Meghan Dunphy told the inquiry she believes Joe Smyth isn't telling the truth about what really happened the day the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer shot and killed her father in his home in Mitchells Brook, a small rural community about 100 km southwest of St. John's.

Meghan Dunphy broke down in tears shortly after taking the stand to talk about her father's death and the questions she still hasabout the day he was killed in his Mitchells Brook home.

Meghan Dunphy was the first of 57 witnesses scheduled to testify during the inquiry's hearings.

Smyth was a member of then-premier Paul Davis's security detail and visited Don Dunphy at his home on Easter Sunday in 2015, after a tweet sent to the premier's Twitter account raised red flags for a communications specialist in his office.

Donna Ivey flagged the tweets to Smyth after reading them "maybe two or three times," she told the inquiry on Monday.

• Former premier's staffer who sent Dunphy tweet to police: 'I would probably do the same thing today'
• Meghan Dunphy tells inquiry she believes police officer manipulated evidence after killing her father

When asked about the language of the tweets in question, Ivey said Monday that she still remains uncertain what Dunphy's message was, adding "I would probably do the same thing today."

• Read more articles byMarkQuinn

JusticeLeo Barry is presiding over the inquiry, which is being held at the former School for the Deaf in St. John's. Barry said Monday he hopes to have the hearings completed by March 7.

You can follow testimony at the judicial inquiry into Don Dunphy's death in our live blog.