Mountie 'broke down' after learning man she shot in 2021 died, coroner's inquest hears
CBC
One of the RCMP officers who fatally shot a knife-wielding man on the Kingston Peninsula while responding to a domestic call on New Year's eve in 2021 "broke down" when she learned the man had died, according to a colleague.
Hampton Const. Mike Alward told a coroner's inquest he was the one who informed now-retired Const. Monique Sears of Ryan Nowlan's death.
"It was one of the hardest things I've had to do with a coworker was to tell her that unfortunately, Ryan was no longer with us," he said.
Nowlan, 39, was pronounced dead at the Saint John Regional Hospital shortly after 6 a.m., the jury heard. He had been Tasered and shot twice by police — in the right shoulder and right abdomen.
An investigation by an independent police watchdog agency in May 2022 found no grounds to lay charges against the two officers — now identified as Sears and Const. Christian Cunningham.
Nowlan, who was not named at the time, had assaulted his ex-partner, threatened to burn down their home and attacked police while armed with a utility knife, according to a report by Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team.
The force the officers used "was justified and not excessive," it concluded.
Sears, who was injured in an altercation with Nowlan at his home on Kiersteadville Road, and was at the hospital, had asked how he was "making out," said Alward.
"So I took a deep breath and I said, 'Monique, why don't we wait and I'll check in on you a little bit later?
"She goes, 'No, I need to know now, I need peace of mind. I want to know how he's making out, how he's doing.'
Alward said he struggled to find the right words and when he told her, "instantaneously, she broke down and she was emotional."
He was glad Sears's husband was there with her, he added. "He took care of her and just consoled her."
A coroner's inquest into Nowlan's death was announced last Friday and began Tuesday at the Saint John Law Courts building. Presiding coroner Michael Johnston and a jury made up of three men and two women are publicly hearing evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding his death.
The jury will also have the opportunity to make recommendations to prevent other deaths under similar circumstances.