Crisis negotiator, psychiatrist offer different views of Steven Rigby, man shot by Saskatoon police
Guy Quenneville | CBC News | Posted: June 24, 2021 12:50 PM | Last Updated: June 24, 2021
Warning: this story contains content some readers may find disturbing
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Two people with unique experiences of Steven Rigby testified at an ongoing coroner's inquest into the 27-year-old's death on Wednesday.
The inquest is not only probing the night Rigby was fatally shot by Saskatoon police officers, but also some of Rigby's treatment within Saskatchewan's health system in the days and months leading to his death. Rigby had a severe alcohol disorder and spoke of suicide by cop.
Cst. Chris Rhodes, a crisis negotiator with the Saskatoon Police Service, said the outcome of Rigby's December 2018 encounter with police was very surprising, while Dr. Oleg Nerutsak, a psychiatrist who assessed Rigby after two suicide attempts within 24 hours in North Battleford, Sask., said his death is something he feels very sorry about.
"It's a tragedy," the doctor said.
Both men's time with Rigby was ultimately brief, but their testimonies added to a growing picture of Rigby's mental health struggles. The six-person inquest jury is tasked with making recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
The negotiator
Rhodes crossed paths with Rigby several months later than Nerutsak, but came first in the witness order on Wednesday.
Rhodes said that of all the people in crisis he has tried to talk down, Rigby was one of the hardest to read.
The inquest has heard that Rhodes advised another officer who is not a member of the police service's crisis negotiation team, Cst. Jordan Lapointe, as he spoke to a distraught and heavily intoxicated Rigby for over an hour before the shooting.
Officers were responding to a call about Rigby being armed, suicidal and driving toward Saskatoon from its rural outskirts. They eventually pinned him down in a ditch once his car was disabled. Officers shot at Rigby after they saw him shoot into the air and then point his weapon at officers, according to testimony earlier in the week.
Lapointe was a close friend of Rigby and was thought to bring the needed "empathetic tilt as a friend I wanted to have in the conversation," Rhodes said.
Rhodes, another member of the crisis negotiation team and Lapointe were talking to Rigby over the phone from a sergeant's office at police headquarters in downtown Saskatoon.
Such calls are typically handled by four members of the crisis negotiation team, Rhodes said.
No psychologist was called in for the Rigby incident, although, unlike other police forces, the Saskatoon police service does not embed doctors with its crisis negotiation unit, Rhodes said.
"It would be beneficial," said Rhodes, who also noted — like many other police witnesses at the inquest — that the number of calls to police in Saskatoon involving mental health has significantly increased in recent years.
Once Rigby was in the ditch, the goal was have him exit his car without his gun. Early in the call, Rigby said he was going to get out of the car and shoot, Rhodes said.
"There's a lot of reasons why you don't need to have the gun with you," Rhodes recalls them telling Rigby.
Rigby grew progressively slurred and communication became scattered as the call went on, Rhodes said. He figured Rigby would eventually just fall asleep.
Once Rigby got out of the car, communication with Lapointe and Rhodes broke off, though they continued to try to talk to him. Officers have testified about hearing voices coming from Rigby's Bluetooth car speaker.
"I was quite surprised he was able to get out of the vehicle," Rhodes said. "And surprised that he was even able to manipulate a firearm.
"Those were not the cues I was [getting] in the conversation."
The psychiatrist
Dr. Oleg Nerutsak was the last witness on Wednesday. Nerutsak conducted a psychiatric assessment of Rigby on Aug. 31, 2018 — five months before the shooting.
Rigby had attempted suicide, was brought to the Battlefords Mental Health Centre at Battlefords Union Hospital by the RCMP, discharged with prescription pills and then attempted suicide again by taking all those pills at once by the time Nerutsak saw him.
Rigby acknowledged his suicide attempts but did not voice any suicidal thoughts at the time of the assessment, Nerutsak said.
Taking concerning accounts from Rigby's family into consideration, Nerutsak committed Rigby to the mental health centre, where he stayed and detoxed from alcohol for a few days.
"He was not happy with this admission because it was against his will," Nerutsak said.
By the end of his stay, "there was no evidence of any major depressive disorder or any mental health disorders," he said. "[Rigby] was feeling safe. He denied any suicidal thoughts."
Rigby was in denial about his suicidal behaviour, his friends previously told CBC News.
"He was very much the type of person to be too proud to admit his struggles or ask for help," Tyler Robin said. "He joked about it, that he would never be admitted again because they're all nuts and he's not."
"He was really an ace at hiding it," Shelly Martin said. "Up until August of 2018, I don't think there was more than a handful at work who knew."
Nerutsak said he discharged Rigby with a diagnosis of adjustment disorder, alcohol withdrawal, severe alcohol use disorder, unspecified personality disorder and a personal history of self-harm.
Rigby was advised to take part in out-patient addictions services programming, including counselling.
"No followup by psychiatry," Nerutsak said, adding that he did not believe at the time Rigby was suffering from depression.
Carey Rigby-Wilcox, Rigby's mother, was visibly upset throughout most of Nerutsak's testimony. The family has said Rigby never got the medical treatment he needed.
The inquest will hear from its final four witnesses on Thursday,. The roster includes the doctor who admitted Rigby to Saskatoon's Irene and Les Dubé Centre for Mental Health three days before his death and noted Rigby had talked about provoking police to shoot him, as well as the psychiatrist who discharged him one day later.
If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.
For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.
You can also contact the Saskatchewan suicide prevention line toll-free, 24/7 by calling 1-833-456-4566, texting 45645, or chatting online.
You can contact the Regina mobile crisis services suicide line at 306-525-5333 or Saskatoon mobile crisis line at 306-933-6200.
You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.
Kids Help Phone can also be reached at 1-800-668-6868, or you can access live chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca.