Report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Transcription
Report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Report to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Public Fatality Inquiry Alberta Provincial Court, 190 Chippewa Road, Sherwood Park WHEREAS a Public Inquiry was held at the in the County of (City, Town or Village) on the Fatality Inquiries Act Strathcona , in the Province of Alberta, (Name of City, Town, Village) 25th & 26th days of November , 2013 , (and by adjournment year on the day of , ), year Before Bruce R. Garriock into the death of of , a Provincial Court Judge, Murray Francis McCoy 56 (Name in Full) (Age) 51035 Range Road 223, Strathcona County, Alberta and the following findings were made: (Residence) Date and Time of Death: Place: January 16, 2011 at approximately 1655 hours Near 51035 Range Road 223, Strathcona County, Alberta. Medical Cause of Death: (“cause of death” means the medical cause of death according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death as last revised by the International Conference assembled for that purpose and published by the World Health Organization – The Fatality Inquiries Act, Section 1(d)). Multiple gunshot wounds. Manner of Death: (“manner of death” means the mode or method of death whether natural, homicidal, suicidal, accidental, unclassifiable or undeterminable – The Fatality Inquiries Act, Section 1(h)). Homicidal LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 2 of 26 Circumstances Under Which Death Occurred: Introduction 1. At approximately 0900 hours on January 16th, 2011, McCoy telephoned the RCMP detachment in Sherwood Park, Alberta and advised that he was on a road outside of his Residence and was going to shoot himself. The RCMP established a perimeter to contain McCoy in close proximity to his Residence. Discussions then ensued between negotiators for the RCMP and McCoy for most of the day. Eventually, when McCoy confronted members of the ERT and he was observed to point his firearm at the officers, he was shot at approximately 1655 hours and was pronounced dead at the scene. 2. In setting out the circumstances of McCoy’s death, I will deal with the following topics: • Preliminary Matters • Exhibits • Events Leading up to the Shooting – General • RCMP Confrontation with McCoy – the Shooting • Post Shooting • Autopsy • ASIRT Investigation • Submissions • Recommendations for the Prevention of Similar Deaths LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 3 of 26 3. Throughout this Report: a) all dates are in 2011 unless otherwise indicated; b) all events and locations are in Strathcona County, Alberta, unless otherwise indicated; c) all times are on the 24 hour clock; d) “ASIRT” means Alberta Serious Incident Response Team; e) “ASIRT Final Report” means that report of the ASIRT dated July 7, 2011; f) “CNT” means the RCMP Crisis Negotiation Team g) “EMRT” means Emergency Medical Response Team; h) “ERT” means the RCMP Emergency Response Team i) “Inquiry” means this Fatality Inquiry; j) “RCMP” means the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; k) “RMI” means the remote mechanical investigator (a robot); l) “TAV” means tactical armored vehicle; m) “Residence” means the residence of McCoy and Cornelia (comprising buildings and lands) at 51035 Range Road 223, Strathcona County, Alberta; and n) reference may be made to the following persons: i) Dr. Bernard Gerhard Bannach (“Bannach”), Assistant Chief Medical Examiner for the Province of Alberta. ii) LS0338 (2014/05) Dr. Alberto Lunyuen Choy (“Choy”), Forensic Psychiatrist Report – Page 4 of 26 iii) Gordon Frederick Corbett (“Corbett”), RCMP Corporal iv) Cornelia McCoy (“Cornelia”), spouse of McCoy v) Brian Charles Cottell (“Cottell”), RCMP Staff Sergeant vi) Ian Douglas Currie (“Currie”), RCMP Inspector vii) Stacey Dej (“Dej”), Justice Canada, Counsel to the RCMP viii) Christopher Richard Handy (“Handy”), RCMP Constable ix) Thomas Edward Kalis (“Kalis”), RCMP Sergeant x) Bradley Nels Scott Lundeen (“Lundeen”), RCMP Constable xi) Murray Francis McCoy (“McCoy”) xii) Brent James Mundle (“Mundle”), RCMP Sergeant xiii) Kim Palichuk (“Palichuk”), Inquiry Counsel xiv) Ernest Schreiber (“Schreiber”), ASIRT Investigator xv) Kenneth William Shamblaw (“Shamblaw”), RCMP Constable xvi) Jennifer Stengel (“Stengel”), Inquiry Counsel xvii) Kurt Thomas (“Thomas”), RCMP Constable xviii) Gregory Andrew Wiebe (“Wiebe”), RCMP Corporal xix) Wayne Michael Williams (“Williams”), RCMP Constable Preliminary Matters 4. A Pre-Inquiry Conference was held before me on September 4th, 2013, at the Alberta Provincial Court, 190 Chippewa Road, Sherwood Park, Alberta, T8A 4H5. In attendance were Stengel, Palichuk, Dej and Cornelia. The following preliminary issues were addressed: a) It was decided that the Inquiry would commence at 0930 hours and continue for the two scheduled days, November 25th and 26th, 2013, at the Alberta Provincial Court, Sherwood Park, Alberta, in Courtroom #2; b) Cornelia was provided with a copy of the Exhibit Binder (Items 1-27) pursuant to my Order that she be bound by section 37.2 of the Fatality Inquiries Act with respect to the contents of the Exhibit Binder; c) The Fatality Inquiry Coordinator from Alberta Justice was to prepare the summonses which would be sent to me for signature and then provided to the RCMP for service on the witnesses; and LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 5 of 26 d) The RCMP were granted standing at the inquiry pursuant to s. 49(2)(d) of the Fatality Inquiries Act. 5. At the commencement of the Inquiry, and before evidence was heard, I advised those present of the provisions of section 49 of the Fatality Inquiries Act and the right of interested persons to apply for standing at the Inquiry. No one indicated a desire to apply for such standing. Exhibits 6. Exhibits 1 and 2 were contained in two exhibit binders. Copies of indices to these binders are attached to this Report. Exhibit 3 is a diagram prepared by Bannach documenting the path of various bullet wounds in this case. Events Leading Up to the Shooting – General a) Kalis 7. On January 16th, 2011, Kalis was a watch commander at the Sherwood Park, Alberta RCMP detachment (which was, in Kalis’ words, “akin to a shift-supervisor”). 8. On that day, Sherwood Park RCMP dispatch centre received a telephone call about 0900 hours from a male who identified himself as either “Francis” or “Murray” and said that he wanted to kill himself with a firearm. After determining that the address searched from the telephone number of the caller was within Strathcona County, Kalis sent RCMP members to assess the situation. 9. A male was observed walking along a road carrying a long-barreled firearm, so an RCMP perimeter was established around this person and nearby residents were evacuated. When this male (later identified as McCoy) moved, RCMP members on-site were instructed to avoid challenging him directly. The perimeter was established and adjusted to contain and minimize any danger that McCoy might be to himself or other people and also to limit his movements. 10. The weather was -25 degrees Celsius, snowing and overcast. The roads were icy and LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 6 of 26 snow-covered. There was a concern as to whether the long-barreled firearm carried by McCoy was a shotgun or a rifle; a rifle could shoot a bullet with an effective range of about 1 kilometer and the effective range of a shotgun is about 15 meters (but within those 15 meters is more lethal than a rifle). 11. McCoy often challenged the RCMP perimeter. Kalis instructed that the perimeter was to be maintained in a dynamic fashion, moving people to make sure containment was effected, but avoiding a confrontation that required the use of force. Kalis spoke to McCoy twice that day on the telephone; during the second call, McCoy appeared very angry and wanted to talk to his wife. Kalis said that McCoy was not interested in engaging with him at all which, in Kalis’ opinion, was very uncommon. 12. Kalis assessed this situation as being beyond his detachment’s capabilities long term. He made a request to the people who were better equipped and better trained to deal with this sort of situation, namely the ERT and the CNT. b) Cottell 13. Cottell, an RCMP Staff Sergeant at the time, testified that he was in charge of uniform operations at the Sherwood Park RCMP detachment, ensuring quality control for investigations. 14. While off-duty on January 16, 2011, Cottell received a call from Kalis as to the situation involving McCoy. Cottell went to the detachment where he determined from checks of various data bases that McCoy did not have a criminal record, that he was noted as the complainant in a number of low-level matters (particularly complaints of recreational vehicles on his property) and that he had no firearms registered in his name. 15. Thereafter, Kalis obtained a warrant granting judicial authorization for the RCMP to enter the Residence to affect McCoy’s arrest. While in the Residence during McCoy’s absence, three firearms were seized and Cornelia was removed from the Residence and taken to the Sherwood Park RCMP detachment. 16. McCoy called the RCMP Sherwood Park detachment, the first of five conversations that occurred between he and Cottell that morning. Cottell reported McCoy’s state of mind as highly-agitated, raging, very emotional and close to breaking down. Throughout all of these conversations, McCoy’s primary focus was to speak with Cornelia. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 7 of 26 17. Cottell indicated to McCoy that he would try to facilitate McCoy speaking to Cornelia. However, Cottell was worried that if this occurred, McCoy might kill himself because McCoy had stated that there was some sort of confrontation between he and Cornelia earlier that morning. Another reason Cottell did not allow contact at that time was that he felt that a CNT negotiator may be in a better position to allow contact between McCoy and his wife under more controlled circumstances, including a possible condition that McCoy give up his firearm. 18. Cottell stated that his role throughout his conversations with McCoy that morning was to buy time – to forestall McCoy taking any action against himself, police or anyone else in order to allow the ERT to get into place and commence negotiations with McCoy. 19. McCoy referred to “death by cop”, which Cottell interpreted to mean that McCoy was suicidal and could put himself in a circumstance that may precipitate the RCMP having to use lethal force. McCoy stated to Cottell that all he had to do was go outside and “raise that shotgun at one of the officers and you guys will shoot me dead”. 20. For the rest of the afternoon, Cottell managed the operations at the detachment and, shortly before 1500 hours, attended at the command post which was north of the Residence. 21. In a truck which comprised the command post, five to six hours after his initial contact with McCoy, Cottell was surprised that in the then recent communications between McCoy and Mundle (the CNT negotiator), McCoy was still at a very elevated state of emotion and raging. c) Shamblaw 22. Shamblaw, a general duty RCMP member, testified that he was located approximately a kilometer from the Residence and received updates via the radio. 23. Shamblaw took a witness statement from Cornelia who advised him that: • she and McCoy had been having marital issues; • there was a verbal argument which escalated to the point where allegedly McCoy pushed Cornelia; LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 8 of 26 • she had no idea that McCoy had called the RCMP; • McCoy had been diagnosed as a Type-2 diabetic, was depressive and had stopped taking his medications; • during previous domestic arguments, McCoy would bring up one of his great-uncles who had committed suicide; • McCoy had threatened to harm himself before; • McCoy had injured his hand which led him being unable to work as a tradesman; and • McCoy was estranged from his family. 24. Cornelia obtained a list of McCoy’s medications for Shamblaw which he passed on to Cottell. Shamblaw then spoke with the CNT who were en route to the scene. 25. A statement from Cornelia to McCoy was recorded for possible future use. d) Thomas 26. Thomas, a general duty RCMP member, stated that he and another RCMP member were located south of the Residence at the intersection of Range Road 223 and Township Road 510. 27. A short time after arriving, Thomas observed a male (who he learned later was McCoy) walk down the Residence driveway with what looked to be a long-barreled firearm, dressed for the winter weather (wearing a winter coat, gloves and winter boots). McCoy walked southbound on Range Road 223 towards Thomas. 28. Thomas yelled out to McCoy to put the gun down, identifying that he was the police, but McCoy kept challenging Thomas to shoot him. 29. Thomas stated that at one point, McCoy did put his firearm down, but would not leave it; he put it beside his feet and he stayed there. McCoy appeared to be focused on wanting to die; he called Thomas a coward for not shooting him. 30. At that point, McCoy picked up what appeared to be a stick, a twig or a metal rod, placed the butt of the firearm on the ground, leaned over the barrel and tried to put this device against the trigger, like he was trying to activate the trigger, but he failed to pull the trigger. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 9 of 26 31. From his training, Thomas talked to McCoy, requesting that he put the firearm down and also tried to obtain information for the other police. 32. After a couple of hours of walking back and forth, McCoy retreated back to the Residence. 33. Initially, Thomas thought that the firearm carried by McCoy was a shotgun with a scope mounted on it, until McCoy moved his hand away; then Thomas saw what he believed to be a bolt-action rifle. e) Mundle 34. Mundle testified that he was part of the CNT, which, in turn, was part of the ERT – the RCMP critical incident package. 35. Mundle testified that his role as a negotiator was to attempt to address a situation through verbal communication before it escalated into anything else. Mundle was referred by Stengel to the RCMP Tactical Operations Manual, Crisis Negotiation Responsibilities, where it stated: “The RCMP is committed to resolving potentially violent situations using the least amount of force necessary. The RCMP recognizes that the use of trained negotiators is an essential element of in the resolution of critical incidents. The primary objective of the Crisis Negotiation Team at a crisis site is to negotiate the safe release of victims and the surrender of offenders without death or injury to anyone.” 36. Mundle testified that in this situation he was the primary negotiator, the person responsible for conducting negotiations with McCoy. Mundle stated that there was also a secondary negotiator who provided support. The other members of the CNT were the team leader (who acts as a liaison between the CNT and the incident commander) and a scribe (who maintains a log of the negotiations and pertinent information). 37. The command post of the ERT was a large, enclosed truck located approximately a kilometer north of the Residence, with two separate compartments; the lead compartment contained the incident commander, his or her scribe, and any radio operators that maintained communications for the team. The second compartment housed the crisis LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 10 of 26 negotiators. 38. At 1201 hours, Mundle began communicating via telephone with McCoy using a negotiation model called the Behavioral Change Stairway. Mundle explained that the initial component of this model is creating a situational assessment so that he can define the individual into one of three categories which, in turn, determines how they move forward. The second component is utilizing active listening skills so that he can engage the individual, hopefully move onto rapport building and establish some type of influence. Lastly, there is problem solving and the ultimate resolution of the incident. 39. Mundle stated that, despite having frequent contact with McCoy, he was not able to establish a rapport with him; McCoy was extremely angry, confrontational, aggressive and verbally abusive during the whole course of his conversations with Mundle. In Mundle’s experience, most people cannot maintain that elevated anger level for such a long period of time and eventually calm themselves to a point where meaningful discussions can occur. 40. McCoy asked to speak to his wife multiple times as he wanted to say goodbye to her. Mundle did not let this happen based on his concern that if this communication with Cornelia was facilitated, McCoy would commit suicide shortly thereafter. This assessment was reached after the other two members of the CNT spoke with Choy, a psychiatrist. (Choy said that in 2011 he had an informal relationship with the RCMP; he provided information from time to time to help the RCMP understand mental health issues.) Choy advised the CNT members that it would not be conducive to resolving the situation if McCoy was allowed to speak with his wife because he had a similar concern with respect to McCoy committing suicide. 41. Mundle offered to play Cornelia’s recorded message to McCoy. That agitated McCoy and he repeatedly said that he did not want to hear it. 42. Mundle requested that McCoy come out of the Residence peacefully, in which case, Mundle would facilitate a face-to-face meeting with Cornelia and allow McCoy private time for discussions. McCoy declined to do so. 43. During his conversations with McCoy, Mundle said that McCoy made repeated threats to harm RCMP officers; he said that it was his intention to shoot an RCMP officer if he went LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 11 of 26 outside. McCoy also talked about sneaking out of the Residence and setting up an ambush for the police officers outside. 44. Mundle suspected that McCoy had a plan of victim precipitated homicide with the police (i.e., suicide by cop). This was confirmed by McCoy mentioning that he would shoot himself, but that he would prefer if the police did it. 45. Mundle said that in his conversations with McCoy, he never reached the point where there was actual bargaining for anything. McCoy was offered things during the day with respect to food and talking to his wife, but he did not want to reach out and take advantage of any of the suggestions. 46. McCoy suggested to Mundle that he had commenced drinking and that he was working himself up to doing something. Mundle stated that as a negotiator, this raised concerns as it moves the subject further away from being able to establish some kind of rational communication and a meaningful discussion about resolving the issue. 47. Mundle advised McCoy that the police were in possession of a warrant allowing lawful access to his Residence and that the gate thereto would be opened. Mundle asked McCoy to prepare for this and to secure his dogs so that they would not escape. When Mundle advised him that he would not be allowed to speak with his wife at that time, McCoy’s response was “someone’s dead”. Then McCoy advised that he did not want to speak to Cornelia anymore and that he just wanted to kill somebody. f) Corbett 48. Corbett testified that the critical incident program triangle has a Critical Incident Commander at the top and the other corners of the triangle have element leaders. Corbett said that the tactical side was represented by the ERT, as led by him. The CNT was represented by the senior negotiator on scene. Corbett stated that he took his orders from Currie, the Critical Incident Commander. As the team leader, any option that Corbett wanted to present as a plan had to be approved by the Critical Incident Commander. 49. Corbett said that his authorizations are derived from section 25 of the Criminal Code of Canada (which authorizes the police to use as much force as reasonably necessary in any circumstance to respond to any situation requiring police intervention) and from LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 12 of 26 directions of the Critical Incident Commander. 50. Corbett referred to the Incident Management Intervention Model in the RCMP Operation Manual which is a guideline to RCMP officers regarding the use of different levels of force; it is a tool to help teach a responsible use of force. 51. Corbett stated that after discussions with Currie about McCoy, it was determined to activate the Critical Incident Team, comprised of the ERT and CRT. 52. Corbett testified that with McCoy not being contained, and therefore in a fluid situation, the ERT provided guidance to the general duty RCMP members to make sure that appropriate distances were kept and that they were not exposing themselves to risk. 53. The ERT team was composed of their optimum number of members that day, namely 12. 54. An “immediate action team” was deployed to the scene as quickly as possible in order to give the general duty RCMP members some immediate help. Thereafter, a second group, called the “deliberate action group” was deployed. During this time, the “deliberate action plan” was developed that speaks to what they are hoping to accomplish to encourage a successful and peaceful resolution. 55. From the incident command summary of the situation, the mission statement that was given at 1047 hours was “to isolate, contain and negotiate the surrender of the armed and barricaded male, ensuring public and police safety.” 56. Corbett stated that his tactical position was approximately 400 meters north of the Residence on the Range Road and that the command post was further north of this position. 57. Corbett received confirmation from the Critical Incident Commander that Corbett had the ability to make decisions that he may not have time to refer to the Critical Incident Commander and to use compromise authority, which means the use of as much force as necessary under s. 25 of the Criminal Code. 58. Corbett authorized three observation posts to be set up around the Residence. Snowmobiles were brought to the scene as a contingency based upon McCoy potentially LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 13 of 26 trying to leave the Residence other than via the driveway or the road. Further, there were 3 police dogs on scene. Corbett received information from the CNT about McCoy’s intention to shoot the police. He was concerned with keeping McCoy contained in the Residence and isolating his communication with the crisis negotiators, as well as with the deep snow, cold weather and McCoy’s dogs. 59. At 1420 hours, it was reported that McCoy’s firearm was discharged. Corbett said that a firearm being discharged is not indicative of moving towards a negotiated surrender. 60. Corbett stated that as tactical team leader, he was not trying to be intrusive or aggressive. He did not want to come into McCoy’s yard. He wanted McCoy to come out. 61. At 1531 hours, McCoy was observed outside the Residence and appeared to be hunting for RCMP member positions, which was putting himself at risk as well as RCMP members. At this point, with the CRT having difficulties stabilizing McCoy, Corbett was concerned that being winter, he was going to lose daylight and would not be in a strong position to react to what McCoy’s actions may be. As such, he felt that he was going to have a difficult time keeping his team safe. 62. As to the timeframe, at: 1420 hours - shot fired by McCoy; 1500 hours - TAV moved closer to the Residence; 1531 hours - McCoy seen leaving the Residence hunting for member positions; 1539 hours - spike-belt removed; 1622 hours - the Residence gate is breached by the TAV. g) Currie 63. As the Critical Incident Commander, Currie testified that as part of the command triangle he oversaw the CNT and the ERT along with other ancillary units which may respond. Currie stated that darkness would afford some cover for ERT personnel, but because they were not “tight to the Residence,” McCoy could emerge and not be visible. Currie felt that the Crisis Negotiation Responsibilities (tab 23) and the Incident Management Intervention Model (tab 27) were both followed in this situation. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 14 of 26 h) Handy, Wiebe, Williams and Lundeen 64. Inside the TAV were two EPS members and 4 ERT members (Handy, Williams, Lundeen and Wiebe). 65. The TAV, a refurbished Brinks truck, was used in assisting to deploy a spike-belt at the mouth of the driveway of the Residence and also to enable the ERT members therein to get closer to the Residence for containment of McCoy. 66. At 1204 hours, Williams, received an update that McCoy advised that if he can’t speak with his wife, he knows the police are outside and he will come out and shoot one; this caused Williams to believe that they were dealing with a very distraught, unstable person who was posing a significant risk not only to himself, but to every other police officer in the area, especially the two ERT members who were the closest to the Residence providing updates. 67. A little after 1503 hours, McCoy exited the Residence and came partway down the driveway. He had no weapons visible in his hands. He was really aggressive, challenging the police to jump out of the TAV and come and get into a fight with him. Wiebe stated that the ERT members opted not to try and seize him at that time because: a) there was still the gate in place with a lock mechanism; b) there was a spike-belt across the driveway so they could not drive in; and c) there was a lot of snow – waist deep in some places, so McCoy could easily get back into the Residence and the tactical advantage would be on his side at that point. 68. Wiebe stated that, in his 10 years as a police officer, it was abnormal that a subject in McCoy’s situation would state that he was going to murder one of the police members and kill anyone he saw. 69. At 1528 hours, McCoy came out of the Residence with the firearm in his right hand, pointed down and motioned for the police to come and get him. He then took a shooting stance, squared his shoulders and legs and pointed his firearm at the TAV; this indicated to Wiebe that McCoy knew how to use this firearm. After pointing his weapon for several seconds at the TAV, McCoy went back into the Residence and then came out again LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 15 of 26 yelling at the ERT members to come and get him. McCoy went back into the Residence once again and came out with the firearm. 70. Wiebe said that the members in the TAV heard via radio that McCoy told the negotiator that he did not want to die on his property and he was going to come out on the road to kill himself. He came down the driveway with the firearm and was again waving at the ERT members to come and get him. He advanced about half way down the driveway. Wiebe was a firearms instructor and examined the firearm carried by McCoy through his binoculars. It appeared to him to be a fairly long barreled bolt-action rifle, but McCoy had indicated that he had a shotgun. Although Wiebe did not know what kind of load was in the shotgun, it was a concern as the longer the barrel, the tighter the spread of pellets and the longer they are propelled without spreading. Therefore, in Wiebe’s words, McCoy “could reach out and touch you at a much further distance with that. And you also have to concern with a shotgun spread as it spreads out, its hitting things around you, behind you…” 71. It was further communicated to the ERT members that McCoy had said that if he had a clear shot, one of them would be down. The TAV was told to hold its position in order to see if McCoy would become accustomed to it being there. Wiebe believed that if the TAV was removed at that time and re-introduced, it could act as an agitator to McCoy, and therefore, it was left in place so that hopefully he would become accustomed to it. 72. The RMI was deployed at 1620 hours on the driveway with a dual purpose – it had a conducted energy weapon attached to it and it provided the ERT members with a closer look at the Residence so that they might be able to see McCoy coming and going, which they could not see from their vantage point in the TAV. The camera images from the RMI were not directly viewed by the ERT members in the TAV; they were relayed information as to what was being seen through telecoms. 73. The ERT members in the TAV received updates as to McCoy’s state. They were told he was crying, that he was going to come out gunning for them, that he was highly agitated, that the police had ruined his life and that he no longer wanted to talk to his wife; he just wanted to come out and kill them on sight. The ERT members in the TAV were updated when McCoy advised the negotiator that was putting more bullets in his gun. They were told that McCoy called the police derogatory names and said that he was a good shot and he was yelling to police to just shoot him. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 16 of 26 74. While McCoy was on the phone, Wiebe and Lundeen exited the back of the TAV with Wiebe carrying a shield and went up to the main gate and removed the spike-belt and then went back into the TAV. They did not want to deal with the lock on the gate as they did not want to extend their time in the open. 75. The TAV breached the gate at 1622 hours. McCoy came out, saw what had taken place and then went back into the Residence. 76. After the gate was breached, the armored vehicle backed up a little bit to create a bit of space and to show that it was not aggressively going onto McCoy’s property. 77. At 1643 hours, McCoy came out of the Residence and walked down the driveway – he had put on a different jacket and was wearing a toque, which Wiebe interpreted as McCoy intending to be outside. McCoy walked through the open gate and shut it behind him. He had a shotgun in his right hand pointed toward the ground. McCoy appeared to be very focused and had a purpose to his walk. 78. At this point, Wiebe was alarmed as McCoy had earlier stressed that he was going to come out and murder somebody. He was now dressed for the weather, he had left his safe zone or protected area to go outside and he closed the gate behind him, so he could not get back in. Wiebe viewed these factors as an act of finality by McCoy and believed that McCoy was going to try and get into an armed confrontation and gun fight with the ERT members. 79. McCoy walked right past the RMI and came toward the gate; the RMI was fairly large and to not take any interest in it was concerning to Lundeen. 80. By McCoy closing the gate behind him when he exited the property, Lundeen believed that McCoy had decided not to go back to the Residence and was looking for a confrontation at that point in time. Williams felt that the situation was very unstable; it was escalating as opposed to the goal of de-escalation. 81. After McCoy unsuccessfully attempted to get into the TAV, he turned and started walking north toward the command post which was set up with civilian and general duty members who were not as well equipped as the ERT members. Wiebe believed that McCoy knew LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 17 of 26 that people were there and that was where he was going. He was using profanity and calling the members names; to Handy, it felt like McCoy was looking for a confrontation with police. 82. Wiebe thought that the ERT members in the TAV could possibly use the taser on McCoy through an open port, but McCoy did not stay in place very long and was wearing a thick jacket that could defeat a taser. Further, Handy was concerned that if they opened a port, McCoy could put the barrel of his gun through the port and discharge it into the TAV. 83. Up to that point, Handy had been on about 70 ERT calls and he had never had someone break basic containment and go where he wanted to go. To Handy, McCoy was looking for a confrontation with police and he was heading toward the command post area, which was fairly vulnerable, with a firearm. 84. The last time Williams saw McCoy walking down the driveway, he appeared very goaloriented, focused and continued to walk in the direction of the gate and the TAV. This was in contrast to his earlier appearances outside the Residence. The action of McCoy closing the gate as he passed, signified to Williams that McCoy had no intention of returning to his property, committing to either a confrontation or committing suicide. 85. After McCoy could not gain entry to the TAV, Williams’ immediate concern was that McCoy was goal-oriented on encountering police in a lethal confrontation; if McCoy could not engage the ERT members inside the TAV, Williams felt that he would focus on the first police officer he could find. 86. When Corbett observed McCoy leave the Residence for the last time and walk in Corbett’s direction after stopping at the TAV, Corbett asked the ERT members in the TAV to exit the TAV and challenge McCoy to drop his firearm. Corbett said this was not what they work towards and they wanted to avoid it. However, the situation they were left with was a confrontation because McCoy had a firearm and he was going to be asked to drop the firearm by police officers who were armed as well. RCMP Confrontation with McCoy – The Shooting 87. When the ERT members exited the TAV and told McCoy to drop his gun, McCoy was approximately 25 meters from the back of the TAV and the ERT members were approximately 10 meters from the back of the TAV. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 18 of 26 88. The ERT members (Handy, Wiebe, Williams and Lundeen) verbalized that they were the police; a lot of challenges were given to McCoy by at least 3 out of the 4 ERT members. McCoy was walking away from the ERT members and, when challenged, he turned and faced them with the firearm in his hand. McCoy said he wanted to speak with his wife. a) Handy’s Description of Events 89. When Handy exited the TAV, he was holding his weapon on McCoy with the safety off. 90. After McCoy turned around to face the ERT members who exited the TAV, the other ERT members were still giving challenges while Handy went quiet because he wanted the commands to be clear. McCoy raised his gun up toward the ERT members and then put his arms out into a ‘T’ position, his right arm with the firearm pointing west and his left arm pointing east. From there, he brought the gun down by his side and looked at it. He then basically flicked and jostled the firearm, brought it down, adjusted it and then the barrel of the gun came up in the direction of Handy and Williams. 91. Handy feared for his life and discharged his service carbine; he shot until he felt the threat was stopped. During the shooting, McCoy stiffened up and fell to his left like a tree that had been cut down, and, as he did, he turned slightly. 92. At the time, Handy estimated that he fired 7 times. Handy was aware that Williams was shooting beside him and that there was a lot of gun fire, but the sounds were distorted to him as he was wearing ear muffs. He realized that one shot occurred to his right and that was from Wiebe. Handy could not remember if McCoy was wearing gloves or mitts at the time. To the best of his recollection, McCoy’s hand was not on the trigger-guard when he was pointing the rifle outward, it was just ahead of it. However, when McCoy brought the firearm down and up, his hand did move back toward the trigger-guard, but McCoy’s finger was not on the trigger. 93. When asked why the TAV could not simply follow McCoy up the road, Handy stated that the concern was to keep McCoy from going to the command post area, which was vulnerable, and have him focus on the ERT members. b) Wiebe’s Description of Events 94. After being told it was the police, to stop and drop the gun, McCoy stopped and turned LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 19 of 26 around to face the ERT members. At that point, McCoy’s gun was pointed at the ground. Wiebe told him that he needed to put the gun down. McCoy yelled at Wiebe to “just shoot me.” Wiebe told McCoy that nobody wanted to shoot him and reiterated his request to McCoy to put the gun down, which continued in excess of a minute. 95. McCoy then brought his arms to a ‘T’ position, then dropped them to his side and became silent, which raised Wiebe’s concerns. McCoy had a blank stare and Wiebe figured that he was going to shoot him or some other member of the ERT team. Wiebe had his firearm already pointed at McCoy and, at that point, Wiebe pulled his trigger, firing one shot. 96. When he pulled the trigger, McCoy’s right arm started to come up and McCoy fell to his left. When Wiebe followed him to the ground, he noted the rifle was now in front of McCoy. Wiebe heard the reports from the M16’s being fired beside him, very muffled. As time has progressed, Wiebe stated that either he could not remember or he had no clear vision of the weapon being brought up by McCoy, but Wiebe made the decision to shoot prior to McCoy raising the rifle because he believed that McCoy was going to shoot them. Wiebe did not know if McCoy was wearing gloves or mittens, or if his finger or hand was on the trigger-guard. c) Williams’ Description of Events 97. Williams stated that when McCoy was walking away from the ERT members he placed his carbine with his sights on McCoy and then began to give him verbal commands saying “it was the police, stop, drop the gun and do it now” and repeated these commands. 98. McCoy turned around with the firearm in his hand, brought his arms to a ‘T’ with the muzzle of the firearm pointing west and then brought the firearm muzzle down pointed towards the ground. 99. While Williams continued his commands, McCoy said “shoot me” and asked why they broke his gate. They continued to tell McCoy to drop the gun, but he did not. McCoy’s gun muzzle started to come up pointing at Williams and Handy. 100. Williams shot his carbine at what he perceived to be a threat to himself and Handy. His only thought was to stop McCoy before he or another ERT member was shot. Williams recalled Handy firing simultaneously, but he was not aware of anyone else firing. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 20 of 26 Williams believed that he fired between 5 and 7 rounds. He stated that his common practice was to load his magazine with 28 bullets, even though it holds 30, but he could not confirm whether there were in fact 28 rounds loaded. When he turned his firearm in after the shooting, there were 23 rounds remaining in the magazine. 101. Williams could not recall if McCoy was wearing gloves or mittens. Williams testified that McCoy’s hand was on the wooden stock near the trigger mechanism, but could not recall specifically if McCoy’s finger was on the trigger or on the frame. d) Lundeen’s Description of Events 102. Like the other ERT members, Lundeen raised his rifle towards McCoy and gave commands to McCoy to drop the gun. On the initial commands, McCoy turned to face them holding the rifle downward with his right hand, barrel pointed toward the ground. McCoy’s hand was covering the trigger-guard, and Lundeen could not tell if his finger was on the trigger or not. Lundeen could not recall if McCoy was wearing anything on his hands. 103. McCoy commented on the fact that they broke his gate. Through their communications, Lundeen could hear that other RCMP members were moving toward them from the south, but had a great deal of distance to come on foot. It seemed at least 30 seconds or so while the ERT members continuously yelled at McCoy to drop the gun. 104. At this point, Lundeen stated that he feared for his life should McCoy raise the rifle. Lundeen knew that if McCoy had any skill with a weapon and if he raised and shot that gun at any one of the ERT members, even with Lundeen’s gun pointed at McCoy, Lundeen would not be able to react fast enough. Through his training, Lundeen said that if he waited for a gun to be pointed right at him and shot, he would not have time to react; the other 3 ERT members would, but Lundeen would not as the target. He was very concerned about that even though McCoy’s gun was still pointed at the ground. 105. Lundeen described McCoy raising his arms in almost a ‘T’ position, then bringing the gun back down to the ground to the original stance and then the barrel of the gun began to be lifted towards Lundeen. 106. At that point, Lundeen shot McCoy at least 2 times. McCoy started to fall and he started to bring the gun upwards more towards the ERT members, at which point Lundeen shot one more time. At the time, Lundeen was wearing soft-body armor, as well as ballistic LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 21 of 26 plates and a helmet specific to the ERT. Lundeen heard additional shots from his right and observed rounds hitting the ground in front of McCoy. 107. Lundeen stated that if he’d been hit with a rifle round in the trauma plate, the plate probably would have stopped the round, but had the round gone to his face, his shoulder or any critical part of his body, he would most likely have been killed, if not seriously wounded. 108. Lundeen said that his usual practice was to load 30 rounds in the magazine and then remove 2 rounds. Post Shooting 109. After the shooting had stopped, Handy called for the EMRT. Handy remained to cover the other ERT members in case something happened and McCoy went for the firearm again or there was some other threat to deal with. After McCoy fell to the ground, Wiebe stated that he started moving toward him, but somebody grabbed and held him for a second and told him to wait until a shield was obtained. Once that was in place, Wiebe moved forward and grabbed McCoy’s left arm. The EMRT arrived on scene, opened McCoy’s jacket which disclosed numerous wounds, and the EMRT advised that McCoy was deceased. 110. After the shooting, McCoy’s firearm was handed to Thomas. He identified it as a 12gauge Gamester H&R Arms Company bolt-action shotgun. When the firearm was handed to him, the safety was off. As the firearm had been struck by two bullets, Thomas was unable to open the bolt to confirm if the chamber was empty or contained a live round. Autopsy 111. Bannach, the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner for the Province of Alberta, conducted the autopsy of McCoy and reviewed and signed the Certificate of Medical Examiner on August 12th, 2011. The immediate cause of death was described as “multiple gunshot wounds” and the manner of death was listed as “homicide”. Bannach opined that McCoy died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 22 of 26 112. The autopsy report outlined that there were 17 gunshot wounds to McCoy’s body (with 8 bullets recovered), as well as multiple exit wounds. Major damage was done to the heart, aorta and pulmonary artery with involvement also of the right and left lungs, stomach, multiple small intestinal loops and the right kidney. There was extensive fracturing of the left forearm and right and left knees. 113. The blood alcohol level of McCoy was over twice the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle and there was reference to recent exposure to cannabis. As well, a small amount of the anti-depressant drug Citalopram was detected. 114. Bannach explained that certain gunshot wounds evidenced other than front entry; those labelled AA, BB, GG, DD and U were all posterior entry wounds. Bannach said that the reference to the back or posterior of the body described a position on the body in relation to what is known as the “anatomic position,” which is a person standing straight upright with their head pointing forward, their arms down at their side and their palms facing forward. 115. Bannach’s explanation as to why some of the gunshot wounds would have entered from the posterior side is that either the shooter was standing behind the individual and discharged a firearm, or the individual moved in relation to the shooter. A number of the wounds as referenced (AA, BB & GG), indicated shots that all came from the left hand side of the body toward the right hand side of the body. Bannach testified that if an individual turned with the left side of his body toward the shooter who was initially standing straight in front of them, these shots could come across the body in that way. For the wound labelled as DD, the individual would have turned a little more than 90 degrees and similarly, for the arm wound labelled U, the individual could have turned or an arm could have been brought up in front of the body receiving a gunshot wound to the back of the forearm which, if it was in the anatomic position, would be coming from behind, but this potentially would be coming from the front. 116. When asked if the force of being struck by the bullets would have turned a person, Bannach said that it is a misconception from the movies that individuals who are hit by a bullet will spin, as bullets do not enough power to do that. As such, the actual force of bullets striking the body does not spin the body, but a person who is struck by a bullet may flinch away as a result of being struck. However, this would be an involuntary motion from the person and not the actual force of the bullet spinning the body. As to what would LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 23 of 26 cause multiple exit wounds from one bullet, such as on the left arm and left leg, these are bullets that have struck bone causing the bullet to break up which, together with bone fragments, create multiple exit wounds. 117. Of the 17 gunshot wounds, 12 entered from the front of the body and 5 from the back. ASIRT Investigation 118. Schreiber was the primary investigator in relation to this incident and prepared the ASIRT Report marked as tab 11 of Exhibit 1. 119. Schreiber testified that the ASIRT was formed as an initiative of the Chiefs of Police of Alberta in conjunction with the Solicitor General to investigate incidents involving either serious injury or death, or to investigate incidents that are deemed to be sensitive allegations, such as sexual assault or corruption type files. 120. Regarding this incident, ASIRT’s investigative team arrived at the Sherwood Park RCMP detachment at 18:30 hours on January 16th, 2011. 121. Handy, Wiebe, Williams and Lundeen were identified as “subject officers”, being those directly involved in the incident that related to McCoy’s death; the officers who pulled the triggers on their respective firearms. As well, 38 “witness officers” were identified, being those who were otherwise involved in the investigation (i.e. having spoken to McCoy, as negotiators or otherwise, and officers who were holding containment points). All of the witnesses and subjects were either interviewed or references were made directly to the police reports that they submitted. 122. Through the video and/or audio from the RMI, at 1641 hours, the RMI moved up the driveway of the Residence. At 1646 hours, McCoy exited the Residence, walked past the RMI down the driveway. What is next seen are the ERT members exit the TAV. Thereafter, out of video sight, the audio recording revealed that at 1648:58 hours, there were voices and repeated commands made to drop the gun, followed by McCoy complaining that they broke his gate – there was a constant “back and forth” between McCoy and the EMT members. 123. At 1649:33 hours, McCoy said “shoot me”, followed by several “drop the gun” comments LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 24 of 26 from the ERT members. Constant similar verbal exchanges thereafter occurred. 124. At 1649:50 hours, McCoy said, “all I want to do is go for a walk” followed three seconds later by ERT demands “drop it, drop the gun” and, at 1650:01 hours, “put it down”. Then there were further indiscernible verbal exchanges. 125. At 16:50:06 hours, the ERT command, “drop the gun now” was made, and at 1650:08 hours, the sound of multiple gunshots. 126. Schreiber stated in the ASIRT Report that the standoff lasted one minute and eight seconds and the gunfire lasted less than two seconds (subject to echo and sound travel). 127. Schreiber was asked about the significance of the gunfire lasting that short period of time. He responded “Well what it tells me as an investigator . . . is that all of the members in the emergency response team were reacting and acting at the same time. They were - - this wasn’t a situation where one member perceived a threat and then later somebody else perceived another threat. This was a - - a reaction that they all had at that instant and they all fired their weapons pretty much simultaneously”. 128. Schreiber testified that the ASIRT Report was sent to Clifton Purvis, the Executive Director of ASIRT, who determined that the ERT members who shot McCoy were acting lawfully within the parameters of section 25 of the Criminal Code. Submissions 129. Submissions were made by Dej to the effect that despite the efforts of no fewer than 37 RCMP personnel, 2 EPS members and 3 emergency medical staff who attended to help McCoy for several hours on a cold day, McCoy’s actions forced the RCMP to use lethal force. 130. Dej pointed to the following actions of McCoy which left the RCMP no other choice: • McCoy was very distraught, verbally abusive, highly agitated and very angry, all of which continued throughout the day. • McCoy was suicidal and made repeated threats to kill himself and anyone he saw. LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 25 of 26 • McCoy did not respond rationally to the various efforts by the RCMP to assist him or their entreaties to drop his weapon. • It appears that McCoy intended to engage the police in a confrontation to end his life. • McCoy expressed persistent and serious threats of death and harm to various police officers over the course of the day. • He commented about setting up an ambush, that he would shoot himself, but he preferred if they shot him. • In the final confrontation with ERT members, McCoy refused to comply with numerous police requests to drop his weapon. • McCoy started drinking, had medical issues (depression and diabetes) and had ceased taking his medications. • The transcript of McCoy’s conversations with Mundle over approximately four hours revealed that he would not leave his guns outside, even to facilitate a conversation with Cornelia. McCoy rejected all offers for assistance. When he expressed that he did not want to talk to Cornelia any more, he said he just wanted to kill somebody. • When McCoy left the Residence for the last time, he was dressed for the weather, unlike his earlier exists. He walked down the driveway with what appeared to be a focus and a purpose that was not previously exhibited. He went through the gate and closed it behind him. He tried to gain entry into the TAV. He started walking toward the command post. • He refused repeated requests to drop his weapon from the ERT members who confronted him on the road, despite their weapons all being trained on him. This ultimately caused all four of them to perceive the same risk of death and/or grievous bodily harm at the same time and react together by discharging their firearms at McCoy. 131. Dej submitted that the RCMP and the EMT made sincere and professional efforts to LS0338 (2014/05) Report – Page 26 of 26 help McCoy as well as to keep Cornelia and members of the public safe. 132. Neither Dej nor anyone else made recommendations to this Inquiry that could have prevented McCoy’s death or that could prevent similar future deaths. Recommendations for the Prevention of Similar Deaths 133. I concur that the evidence supports the foregoing submissions. I am satisfied that the RCMP members and the ERT members who were involved, did all that was reasonably possible to achieve their goal, as outlined by Corbett, to contain, isolate and encourage McCoy to arrive at a peaceful resolution through negotiation. I feel that the CNT adhered to its objective of a peaceful resolution of the incident according to the hereinbefore mentioned RCMP Tactical Operations Manual. McCoy left the TAV and started toward the RCMP command post carrying his weapon and thereafter refused to comply with the repeated demands to drop his weapon given by the four ERT members who then confronted him. The actions of McCoy were perceived as a threat and reacted to by all four ERT members simultaneously according to their training. This sadly resulted in McCoy’s tragic death. I have no recommendations for the prevention of similar deaths. DATED December 9, 2014 , Original signed by at St. Albert , Alberta. Bruce R. Garriock A Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta LS0338 (2014/05) Justice and Solicitor General AXbeibk I^)C t; fc-f PUBLIC FATALITY INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF McCOY, MURRAY FRANCIS EXHIBITS iQ^^g^gg^gl^WgWJIItaBHHHHHH Pages MEDICAL EXAMINER'S DOCUMENTS 1. Fatality Review Board Case Summary Recommendations 00001 2. Certificate of Medical Examiner 00002 3. Toxicology Report 00003 4. Confidential Autopsy Report Form 00004 5. Autopsy Report 00005-00013 EMS DOCUMENTS 6. Strathcona County Emergency Services Ground Patient Care Report 00014-00015 7. Strathcona Emergency Services Incident Report 00016-00018 RCMP DOCUMENTS 8. RCMP K Division Occurrence Details 00019-00060 9. O/C Criminal Operations - Administrative Review - McCoy Sudden Death 00061-00066 10. Member-Firearm Discharge "K" Division - Independent Officer Review 00067-00088 a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. 1. m. ERT Debriefing Report - ICS Form #1225e Handwritten IA/DA Emergency Operational Plan Handwritten Radio Log (audio not included) Notes - Cpl. Corbett, Team Leader Curriculum Vitae - Handy/Lundeen Edmonton Fall Qualification Scores (Handy, Lundeen, Wiebe, Williams) Sgt. Mundle's notes (audio and video not included) and transcribed negotiations Edmonton ERT Incident Command Summary Mandate Memo, dated 2011.01.20 Critical Incident Program CIC - Insp. Steinke, Incident Commander ASIRT report - see Tab 11 'K' Division ERT Organization Chart and Policy Supt. Lee's notes 00089-00091 00092-00095 00096-00108 00109-00120 00121-00149 00150 00151-00404 00405-00424 00425-00458 00459-00463 00464 00465-00470 00471-00474 PUBLIC FATALITY INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF M C C O Y , MURRAY FRANCIS PAGE 2 EXHIBIT BINDER 1 Tab Description Pages ASIRT 11. ASIRT Investigation into Homicide - Officer Involved Shooting Final Report 00475-00507 12. Statement of Cst. Christopher Handy 00508-00511 13. Statement of Cst. Brad Lundeen 00512-00516 14. Statement of Cst. Wayne Williams 00517-00521 15. Statement of Cpl. Gregory Wiebe 00522-00529 16. Interview and Walkthrough Summaries of Cpl. Gord Corbett 00530-00537 17. Interview Summary and Summary of Negotiator's Recordings of Sgt. Brent Mundle 00538-00548 18. Interview Summary, Supplementary Occurrence Report and Briefing NOK to Criminal Operations of Sgt. Tom Kalis 00549-00556 19. Interview Summary of Cst. Joe Tassone/interview transcript 00557-00564 20. Interview Summary of Cst. Scott Innes/interview transcript 00565-00578 21. Interview Summary of Cst. Kurt Thomas, Cst. Thomas' Supplementary Occurrence Report 00579-00584 22. Summary of Review of Video Incident Capture (VICS) Recordings 00585-00598 RCMP POLICIES 23. RCMP Tactical Operations Manual - Crisis Negotiation Team s. 3.1 Crisis Negotiation Responsibilities - Version in place in 2010 00599-00604 24. RCMP Tactical Operations Manual - Crisis Negotiation Team s. 3.1 Crisis Negotiation Responsibilities - Current Version 00605-00612 25. RCMP Tactical Operations Manual - Crisis Negotiation Team 3.2 Selection, Training and Equipment - Version in place in 2010 and present 00613-00614 26. RCMP Tactical Operations Manual - Crisis Negotiation Team 3.3 Crisis Negotiation Responsibilities - Version in place in 2010 and present 00615-00616 27. RCMP Operational Manual - Incident Management Intervention Model 00617-00639 Justice and I Solicitor General ^Albert*. t>cL trf- o^ PUBLIC FATALITY INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF McCOY, MURRAY FRANCIS ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS Tab Description Pages CURRICULUM VITAES 1. Dr. Bernard Bannach 00640-00644 2. Dr. Alberto Choy 00645-00653 3. S/Sgt. Brent Mundle 00654-00665 4. Cpl. Gregory Wiebe 00666-00679 5. Cst. Wayne Williams 00680-00711 6. Cpl. Gordon Corbett 00712-00715 7. Insp. Ian Currie 00716 OFFICER NOTES 8. Cst. Thomas 00717-00719 9. Cst. Shamblaw 00720-00723 10. Cst. Chris Handy 00724-00732 11. Cst. Wayne Williams 00733-00742 12. Cpl. Gregory Wiebe 00743-00749 13. Insp. Ian Currie 00750-00757