Mental health concerns of RCMP shooting victim not acted upon, inquest hears

A coroner's inquest into the shooting deaths of a mother and son in B.C.'s northern Interior heard evidence Monday about the 77-year-old woman's mental state and the community's attitude toward her in the years before she was killed. 

Shirley Williams and her son, Jovan Williams, 39, were shot and killed by police in the backyard of their home in Granisle, B.C., in April 2016, following an armed confrontation. 

Police described finding Jovan outside the home wearing camouflage and armed with a firearm and a knife. Soon after, Shirley exited the house wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a shotgun.

A report by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. found the officer was justified in firing at them "before they could fire at him."

Harvey Williams, Jovan's father and Shirley's ex-husband, broke down in tears as he recounted the last time he saw his family after a Christmas visit to their home.

He says despite their separation in the 1980s, he and his ex-wife remained close. Harvey told the room that Shirley was increasingly concerned about being targeted by her neighbours and the RCMP.

Jovan moved in with his mother about a year before their deaths at her request.

Harvey Williams, who is a member of the Cheslatta Nation, was supported by Cheslatta Chief Corrina Leween as he detailed racism directed at Shirley and Jovan by their neighbours in Granisle, about 150 kilometres east of Smithers, B.C.

Shirley, originally from Tennessee, was not Indigenous, but Harvey said she was judged for marrying an Indigenous man. He said people in the community "didn't like us for neighbours." 

He said Jovan started a lawn care and snow removal business but couldn't keep customers as a result of what he described as a climate of racism in the community. 

Shirley told her physician in 2014 that two neighbours in particular were responsible for a number of acts of aggression. Harvey said those acts included trampling her garden beds, slashing her plastic greenhouse siding, deleting photos off an SD card and changing her bank card PIN without her knowledge. 

Shirley had begun keeping detailed notes on police-involved incidents after the death of Ian Bush in Houston, B.C., in 2005, Harvey said. Bush was shot in the back of the head while in custody for having an open beer at a hockey game.

The RCMP internal investigation found the officer acted in self-defence, but the incident was a major impetus for the creation of the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

Jim O'Farrell, who lived four doors down from Shirley, was a councillor for Granisle and the fire chief in 2016. He had been shown Shirley's journal in the year before her death and testified that the "general tone" concerned him. He said it was "obvious she needed help" but was told by the community health nurse that she had refused their outreach.