Questions still remain as to why an RCMP officer felt he had no choice but to shoot and kill Brydon Whitstone following a vehicle chase in North Battleford in October 2017.
A corner’s inquest into the 22-year-old man from Onion Lake Cree Nation’s death heard Monday afternoon from a Regina police officer who was part of a team called in to investigate in the wake of Whitstone’s death..
Pierre Beauchesne testified his investigation determined the officer made the right decision to fire his weapon upon Whitstone as his erratic and dangerous behaviour gave him no choice.
The passenger in the vehicle, Amanda Wahobin, also told police Whitstone was suicidal and kept reaching into his pants in an attempt to make police think he had a gun.
However, Wahobin also told police she had her arms around his waist at the time and he was hugging her raising questions as to how convincing an act to simulate reaching for a gun might be.
Other statements from Wahobin indicate she may have been high on crystal meth amphetamine on the night of the shooting.
Stephanie Lavallee is one of the lawyers representing the Whitstone family at the inquest.
She says the family hopes it will bring some sense of closure to the tragedy.
“To be honest, they were expecting a sense of justice but that’s not inquests are about,” Lavallee says. “And so that was a difficult conversation to have with them. But we explained to them the purpose of the inquest and even though they are not going to get that sense of justice that they want, we still want to get for them the answers that are going to give them a sense of closure about how their son met his death.”
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The corner’s inquest into into the death of a 22-year-old Onion Lake Cree Nation man who was fatally shot by police last year got underway Monday morning.
Brydon Whitstone was shot and killed by RCMP after a vehicle pursuit in North Battleford on the night of Oct. 21, 2017.
The inquest heard police responded to a report, shortly before 9 p.m., of occupants in a white sedan firing shots at a male on foot.
Mounties began pursuing a vehicle they believed fit the description.
The driver was eventually blocked in by police cruisers at the intersection of 15th Avenue and 105th Street but RCMP said he began to ram police vehicles.
Police say the driver and passenger of the vehicle were uncooperative with officers and refused to voluntarily exit the vehicle.
The driver was Whitstone and passenger Amanda Wahobin.
Officers say Whitstone did eventually put his hands up while still in the vehicle but when he did reach down by the seat an RCMP constable fatally shot him in the chest.
He died about 9:40 p.m., about 45 minutes after police received the initial call.
A search of the vehicle determined Whitstone was unarmed but did have rounds of .22 calibre ammunition on him and including internally in his stomach.
The first witness to testify was RCMP Staff Sergeant Rob Zentner who oversees homicide investigations out of Saskatoon.
A six-person jury was also selected of three men and three women.
The jurors are also evenly split between persons of Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent.
The provincial ministry of justice decided earlier this year not to lay charges against the officer who shot Whitstone.
A corner’s inquest can make recommendations but does have the authority to determine criminal culpability.
The inquest is being overseen by Saskatoon lawyer Robert Kennedy.
A total of 18 witnesses are to be called and it is expected to last until Friday.
The inquest is taking place at Court of Queen’s Bench in the Battlefords.
(PHOTO: Brydon Whitstone. File photo.)