FREDERICTON –
An independent group should review its use of force policy in New Brunswick police to ensure it is concise and understandable to all provincial officials, a jury of forensic doctors recommended on Thursday.
A jury of three women and two people was tasked with investigating the death of Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old indigenous woman who was shot dead by a police officer in northern New Brunswick in 2020 during a health check. Jurors described her death as murder after four days of testimony during an investigation that began Monday.
Earlier on Thursday, Chris Butler, a Canadian police expert and the latest witness in the investigation, said the police officer who shot Moore was undergoing police training. Butler said Const. Jeremy Son was about to use deadly force when Moore approached him with a knife.
Moore, Butler told the jury, is only five to seven feet from Son on the balcony in front of his apartment.
“Officer Son was in imminent danger of serious injury or death the moment he started firing,” he said.
Moore was a member of the First Nation Tla-o-qui-aht in British Columbia and moved to New Brunswick to be closer to his family shortly before she was killed. Investigators from Quebec Police Surveillance, the Bureau des enquetes independantes, concluded last year that the shooting came after Moore approached the officer with a knife in his hand.
Jonathan Brunet, Moore’s ex-boyfriend, told the investigation earlier this week that he called police at 2:06 a.m. on June 4, 2020, to request a health check after receiving text messages about which he believes were written by someone lurking Moore.
The son arrived on the balcony on the third floor in front of Moore’s apartment at 2:32 in the morning and saw her sleeping on a sofa inside. He knocked on the window and shone a flashlight to show that he was in full police uniform.
Son told investigators that Moore appeared to have caught something metal on his way to the door. He testified that when she went outside, she had a knife in her hand pointing up and an angry expression on her face. Son said Moore did not respond to his requests to drop the knife and that he shot her four times in quick succession.
“Const’s use of deadly force. “Son in this situation was in line with police training and practice,” Butler said. He said Son was left without a way out by returning to the balcony, but said it would be just speculation to assume the outcome would have been different if the officer had stood on the stairs instead.
Butler said Son’s ballistic vest could easily be pierced with knives.
Son told the investigation that he asked French Moore to drop the knife. Butler said that with such limited time and not knowing if Moore was bilingual, the officer had to issue his request in French and English or shout, “Police! Police!” Stop it! ”
Police officers who testified earlier this week said efforts to stop bleeding from Moore’s wounds were over when the pulse could not be detected. Butler, meanwhile, said efforts to provide medical care had to continue until paramedics arrived.
Former Edmund Police Chief Alain Lang told the investigation Wednesday that his police had only one working stun gun the night Moore was shot. He said the force now has five, adding that although all officers have been trained to use it, they do not have to wear tasers.
Butler said it was “indefensible” for the forces to train officers on how to use tasers, but they did not have a policy that required them to wear them. However, he noted that conductive weapons, such as Tasers, are not 100 percent reliable and are often ineffective if the probe misses or the target is dressed in heavy clothing.
He said Son only had time to use his gun.
The jury recommended that police officers in the province be tested for their understanding of current police policies and procedures. The jurors also recommended that the police take action to build better relations with the communities of the first nation.
Coroner Emily Cassie said she would send recommendations to various agencies, which would have six months to respond. However, the recommendations are not binding.
Martha Martin, Moore’s mother, said it was a difficult week for her. “You hear all the details that led to your child’s death,” she told the investigation. “You hear the details until they take their last breath.”
Six leaders of the Wolastoqey nation in New Brunswick issued a statement Thursday saying the investigation showed the urgent need for an investigation into systemic racism by locals. They say the jury’s findings and recommendations do not relate to the serious nature of the tragedy or the systemic problems posed by the judiciary.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 19, 2022.
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