The APEC inquiry in Vancouver has heard that one of the Mounties at the scene of the infamous pepper-spraying incident felt it was totally mishandled.

Cpl. Dave Flamank told investigators he thought the officer who used the pepper spray, Staff Sgt. Hugh Stewart, overreacted.

Flamank's views were entered into evidence at the inquiry Monday by Cameron Ward, lawyer for the students who protested at the 1997 summit.

Ward is trying to prove that Stewart violated RCMP policy on using pepper spray when he emptied a canister on students who were blocking a road at the international gathering.

Stewart had only arrived on the scene moments beforehand and made the decision to use pepper spray without talking to other officers at the scene, including Flamank.

Ward quoted Flamank's statement to investigators, in which he described the students as peaceful.

"I didn't think it was necessary at all for Staff Sgt. Stewart to use pepper spray," Flamank said.

"I felt he didn't give students appropriate time to move."

However, Flamank apparently had a change of heart since making those statements a year ago. So it's not clear what he'll say under oath when he testifies at the inquiry.

Stewart said he was told by Mounties more senior than Flamank to expect trouble when he arrived at the student sit-in.

During his initial testimony, Stewart said it was his decision alone to use the pepper spray -- and he most definitely was not being pressured by the prime minister or his officials, as suggested by the students' lawyers.

Stewart's actions earned him the title Sgt. Pepper by the student protesters and media.