Public inquest to be held into death of man shot by transit police
B.C. Coroners Service announce inquest into death of Naverone Woods, shot inside supermarket in Surrey in 2014
The B.C. Coroners Service says a public inquest beginning in March will look into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man shot by transit police officers inside a Surrey supermarket in 2014.
Naverone Christian Landon Woods, 23, was shot and killed by Metro Vancouver Transit Police officers inside a Safeway store in Surrey on Dec. 28, 2014.
The inquest, which allows for the public presentation of evidence relating to a death, will begin March 20 at the B.C. Coroners Court in Burnaby.
When officers arrived at the scene, Woods was shirtless and had multiple wounds after he had reportedly stabbed himself inside the store, according to a report from the Independent Investigations Office, the civilian agency that investigates police incidents involving death or serious harm.
The report says officers ordered Woods to drop the knives he was waving, but he did not and instead moved toward police.
The female officer who fired her gun was cleared of wrongdoing by the IIO in its May 2016 report, which said the officer used reasonable force.
At the public inquest, presiding coroner Brynne Redford and a jury will hear evidence to determine the facts surrounding Woods' death.
The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances, the B.C. Coroners Service said.