Day three of public inquest into police shooting death of Gerald Lord hears autopsy testimony

REGINA – Day three of the public inquest into the death of 42 year-old Gerald Lord, who was killed in his Holdfast home by police in 2013, continued Wednesday.

The last of the witnesses took the stand including Dr. Shaun Ladham, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Lord’s body.

READ MORE: Day two of public inquest into police shooting death of Gerald Lord in Holdfast home

Ladham testified that Lord had four gunshot wounds by Const. Eric:

1. Head
2. Left Upper Chest
3. Left Forearm (closer to wrist)
4. Right Forearm (closer to joint muscle)

While Ladham said he did not know the order of the shots fired, he said the two gunshot wounds to the arm weren’t likely the cause of Lord’s death, but that they did have gun powder particles on them.

 “The one’s on the arm would have been closer to the weapon,” Ladham said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter:  "The one's on the arm would have been closer to the weapon," Ladham said.

Ladham testified that the shot to the left upper chest caused significant bleeding and massive damage to the heart.

“Either one or both could of caused his death,” Ladham explained, referencing the left upper chest and head gunshot wounds.

“More likely [the head wound] was the last of the gunshot wounds… it would have caused him to drop to the ground,” Ladham said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "More likely [the head wound] was the last of the gunshot wounds… it would have caused him to drop to the ground," Ladham said.

READ MORE: Public inquiry begins into death of 42-year-old Holdfast man, killed by RCMP.

According to Const. Eric’s testimony on Monday, his first two shots were fired while Lord was on top of him during the physical altercation. Once pressure from Lord was relieved, Const. Eric said he got himself up and shot another round to Lord’s head.

Ladham also testified that Lord had a blood alcohol level of 0.212. The legal driving limit is 0.08.

Corporal Blaine Kobeluck from the RCMP Tactical Training Section testified that Const. Eric’s training was fully up to date.

READ MORE: Two years later: Questions remain after Sask. man shot, killed by RCMP

Kobeluck said officers are trained using ‘The Incident Management Intervention Model’ which teaches use of force, including when using a gun is appropriate.

“You’re not trying to kill them, you’re trying to stop that threat.” Kobeluck said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You're not trying to kill them, you're trying to stop that threat." Kobeluck said.

The jury will begin deliberations starting Thursday where they will potentially provide recommendations on how to avoid a similar death in the future.