The jury examining the inquest into the Regina Police Service shooting death of Metis man Geoff Morris on May 4, 2019 made four recommendations including; a mandatory psychologist arrive with the crisis intervention team, the crisis team wear body worn video and audio devices.
There be a list of Elders willing to attend an emergency scene and annual certified training for mental health intervention, de-escalation and addictions and psychosis.
Police Chief Evan Bray said he is very accepting and open to the recommendations.
“There was one recommendation talking a lot about training and having yearly training with regard to mental health with regard to understanding cultural diversity and training in hostage situations, those types of things. We do that sort of training annually now,” Bray told reporters, one day after the inquest concluded.
He explained that there have been high-level discussions with the Board of Police Commissioners about having body-worn cameras. Cameras were mentioned in twice in the jury recommendations.
A meeting with the RPS Elders Advisory Council is scheduled for later this autumn where Bray believes the topic of increased Elder involvement may be discussed.
Police allege that Morris held his fiancée hostage the day of his death. Bray called that fatal May day tragic for all involved. He stood by his officer’s decision to take the life of a person, in order to save the hostage.
“That was a very challenging, dynamic, quickly unfolding situation that they use a lot of different tools and strategies and tactics to try and resolve that situation peacefully. Those officers testified, each one of them testified this week, that they felt they had done everything that they could, and they felt like there was no way they could have avoided that outcome at that day, at that time,” said Bray.
“I know on this day, our officers were involved in taking a life. But in doing so they saved a life. This was a hostage situation. They all believed that that victim, that hostage life was in jeopardy. And they all believed that, despite all of their efforts to try and resolve that situation peacefully, the way that situation ended was the only option they had that day to save a life.”
The five-person jury made up of two Indigenous People testimony over three days in Regina, which included police officers on scene and a transcript of a police interview with Morris’s fiancée.