'Heavy day' for family of slain Chantel Moore as officer who shot her testifies at inquest
CBC
It was a "heavy day," Martha Martin said at the end of the second day of the inquest into her daughter's death.
Chantel Moore, of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was 26 when she was fatally shot on June 4, 2020, by an Edmundston police officer who'd been dispatched to check on her well-being.
Moore's family members were distraught during the testimony Tuesday, hearing for the first time from their daughter's killer.
The family received support, including drumming and smudging, from members of the Indigenous community attending the inquest in Fredericton.
Well-known Wolastoqi singer Jeremy Dutcher made an appearance in the morning. He sang as family members proceeded through security into the conference room.
WATCH | Chantel Moore family's emotional arrival at second day of inquest into her death
Several police officers testified on Tuesday, beginning with the man who shot Moore.
Const. Jeremy Son said his purpose in going to Moore's apartment in Edmundston was to see if she was safe, but after speaking to her ex-boyfriend, Jonathan Brunet, and her mother, he didn't think the call was urgent.
Brunet had told Son that Moore sometimes would send him "inappropriate" messages when she was drinking. But that night the messages seemed bizarre and worrisome. Possibly someone else had her phone. He didn't want to take a chance she could be in danger.
Son said he arrived on the scene alone and let dispatch know where he was. He did not have the lights on his cruiser activated, so a dash cam video and audio recording system were not activated either.
Son said when he got to the top of the stairs to the apartment, he saw the television on inside and a woman lying on the couch in front of the window. Her phone was in front of her, and it was lighting up as if from notifications.
She seemed to be alone, he said. He knocked on the window several times but she didn't react. He didn't recall whether he announced aloud that he was a police officer.
He tried to turn the door knob, but the door was locked, he said.
A fellow officer, Marc Bouchard, had arrived and was seated in his patrol car in the parking lot below.
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