Inquest hears from officer who shot and killed Naverone Woods
CBC | Posted: March 21, 2017 2:01 PM | Last Updated: March 22, 2017
Const. Pamela McKinnon testifies Woods was holding 2 knives when he lunged at her and her partner
A coroner's inquest heard from the officer who fatally shot 23-year-old Naverone Woods in a Surrey Safeway over two years ago.
Const. Pamela McKinnon testified that Woods was bleeding profusely from his abdomen, while he jogged on the spot with a knife in each hand, during the December 2014 altercation. She said he was sweating and seemed disoriented.
McKinnon said she and her partner repeatedly yelled at Woods to drop the knives but he appeared not to hear them and then lunged at her partner. That's when she fired twice, hitting him with the second shot.
Wood's family members were visibly emotional as they listened to the testimony.
Both officers were questioned about their decision to draw their weapons rather than attempting to de-escalate the situation by using other means like pepper spray.
The officers testified that they felt Woods was a threat to both of them and other bystanders and that the use of force was justified.
The Independent Investigations Office, which looks into serious cases involving police, cleared the officers of any wrongdoing last spring.
On Monday, bus driver Christine Morrison told the coroner's jury that she closed the doors of her bus when Woods ran toward the vehicle screaming and agitated earlier on the same day.
She cried when she described hearing that the man was later shot in a confrontation with police, saying that she felt horrible because she had initiated the call.
Doctor Craig Murray testified that Woods admitted to drug and alcohol use, but had been calm and co-operative when he received treatment at a local hospital for a knee injury earlier that day.
The inquest is expected to wrap up Wednesday.
With files from Farrah Merali, Canadian Press