Inquest into death of Sask. man shot by police near Belle Plaine in 2022 begins
CBC
A coroner's inquest into the death of 26-year-old Ryan Booker, who was fatally shot by police near Belle Plaine, Sask., started Monday.
Booker died on Highway 1 after a standoff with police on July 17, 2022.
At the time, RCMP said they received a report of a man was sitting in his car, uttering threats. The man drove from the Superstore parking lot in Moose Jaw and pulled over near Belle Plaine, RCMP said.
After a six-hour standoff involving SWAT and RCMP's Critical Incident Response Team, police shot him. RCMP said the man had pointed his gun at officers and did not comply with demands.
Inquests like this are not criminal proceedings and do not result in criminal charges. Juries are asked to determine the facts of the death and make recommendations to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
Coroner Aaron Fox selected six jurors who will participate over what's expected to be five days of proceedings.
Kaitlyn Hofer, who had been in a six-year relationship with Booker, testified Monday that he had been diagnosed with depression shortly before they met and was taking medication for it until he stopped "a year and a bit" before he was killed.
"I hadn't noticed a change," Hofer said.
She said their relationship was "really good" up to the last six weeks before Booker died. He had been quietly struggling with alcohol and substance abuse, she said.
Hofer said there was a day she noticed some money had been missing and decided to confront Booker about it.
"He ended up telling me the truth — it was for drugs," she said.
Shortly after, the couple came to a mutual decision that Booker would live at their camper in Belle Plaine, 15 minutes from their home in Moose Jaw, until he was sober.
Booker lived there for about a month before his death, returning home a few times.
Hofer said she would often put their kids to sleep at night before going to the camper to check in on him. She said Booker wanted to get better.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.