The final day of witness testimony during a coroner’s inquest into the death of Joshua Megeney began with Saskatchewan’s chief forensic pathologist.
Dr. Shaun Ladham conducted the autopsy on Oct. 7, 2016, the day after the 28-year-old was fatally shot at home on Avenue Q in Saskatoon.
Ladham said there was evidence of a gunshot wound to Megeney’s head and injection sites on his body.
He added the bullet that hit Megeney was likely fired from a distance and he died instantly. Methamphetamine was also discovered in his blood.
Sgt. Kenneth Kane, a member of the Saskatoon police force’s tactical support unit and team lead on the call, testified he’s never experienced a break and enter that ended like this.
He said his initial goal was to safely arrest whoever was inside the home, but the situation quickly evolved.
Kane heard from the homeowner there were guns lawfully secured inside the house, including the top floor bedroom where, previous testimony revealed, an armed Megeney locked himself inside.
Kane said police were not able to adequately communicate with Megeney. Not knowing he was armed, he described the moment he ordered a breach and retreat as a means of opening those lines for crisis negotiators not yet on the scene. Kane said the tactic to ram the bedroom door was “not at all to be confrontational.”
- Roll Up To Win? Tim Hortons says $55K boat win email was ‘human error’
- Ontario premier calls cost of gas ‘absolutely disgusting,’ raises price-gouging concerns
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- Election interference worse than government admits, rights coalition says
With a gap now in the door, Kane recalled hearing officers talking about a “long barrel gun.” Fearing for the safety of his officers, Kane said he began ushering his members down the stairway.
He recounted the frantic moment hearing Saskatoon police Const. Atkinson tell Megeney to “drop it.”
Moments later, a fatal shot was fired.
The lawyer for the 28-year-old’s family, Scott Spencer, questioned the quick use of the breach and retreat tactic when there was no sense of what was behind the door – saying it could be perceived as “aggressive.”
The jury also questioned the Saskatoon police sergeant about the tactic and asked about their level and frequency of crisis negotiating training.
Kane said he didn’t anticipate the threat level and had he known it was an armed barricade he said “he would have never entered the residence.”
Coroner Alma Wiebe will deliver her instructions on Friday to the jury, who will then determine a cause of death and make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
Comments