The BC Coroners Service has set a date for an inquest into the death of two people during a standoff with police five years ago.
Police fatally shot Nona Marnie McEwan and Randy E. Crosson while responding to reports of a man holding a woman hostage in a cul de sac near 133 Street in Surrey on March 28, 2019.
The Independent Investigation Office (IIO) later determined that both people were fatally shot as officers breached the home in an attempt to save the woman.
The IIO concluded that officers had acted lawfully during a dangerous hostage-taking and that the woman’s death was an accident precipitated by a crisis “deliberately created” by her assailant.
The Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team was originally called to the home around 10 p.m. the night before, and crisis negotiators had attempted to talk with the occupants.
Around 3 a.m., Crosson was heard yelling “It’s a good day to die,” and he was recorded in a 911 call saying, “You tell those pigs to get the f–k away from my house or I will start killing people.”
According to the IIO’s report, police moved in after Crosson threatened to kill his hostage within an hour, and found him holding a knife to her throat when they entered.
Both Crosson and McEwan were fatally shot in the ensuing confrontation.
The inquest into their deaths will begin on April 15 at the Burnaby Coroners’ Court.
Inquests do not assign guilt or fault but serve to determine the facts around a death, including how, where, and by what means a person died, while making recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Under B.C. law, inquests are mandatory when someone dies while being detained by a peace officer.