Coroner's inquest into death of Chantel Moore to begin today
CBC
A coroner's inquest is expected to begin Monday into the death of a young Indigenous woman in Edmundston that sparked a public outcry over systemic racism and the way police respond to people in mental distress.
Chantel Moore was from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia. She was 26 when she was fatally shot early on June 4, 2020 outside her apartment on Canada Road by a police officer who'd been dispatched there to check on her well-being.
Crown prosecutors concluded about a year ago that Moore's death was the result of her actions, combined with being severely impaired by alcohol. No charges were laid against the officer because he was deemed to be reasonably defending himself.
Their report found the wellness check was ordered based on a call from Moore's ex-boyfriend, who received a message from her June 3, suggesting someone had been watching her sleep.
The police officer went up an exterior stairway to her apartment. Moore came out with a knife. He told her in French to drop it. She continued toward him. He fired on her while he was cornered on a third-floor balcony.
A police commission review was held last fall and found "insufficient evidence" that Const. Jeremy Son had done anything wrong.
Moore's mother said after that review that she still didn't understand how the fatal shooting could have happened and was still looking for accountability.
The point of the coroner's inquest is not to assign blame, but to determine all the relevant facts about a death and provide an opportunity for recommendations to prevent deaths under similar circumstances in the future.
"Hopefully something more productive can come from this tragedy," said St. Thomas University criminologist Michael Boudreau.
"Obviously, it never should have happened, but it has. And now we need to learn from it, because if not, this will happen again."
One thing that has already been implemented since Moore's death is the creation of a Serious Incident Response Team to independently investigate police actions in cases like this.
Another is an expansion of the use of body cameras by police.
Edmundston police Chief Alain Lang said last month that the force had started testing two models of cameras and planned to use the equipment for evidence gathering and officer accountability.
"That arguably is a step in the right direction," said Boudreau.
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