Police shooting underscores reform plan
Schizophrenia sufferer from Ottawa died in hail of bullets in Toronto last year
Last summer, Rena LaFleur heard from the coroner, who offered her a chance at something she hadn’t had since the death of her son — a voice.
The coroner told her there was the possibility of an inquest into the shooting death of her son, Devon.
Devon LaFleur, 30, who had schizophrenia, died in a hail of police bullets in March 2016.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit has cleared police in the shooting.
But Rena LaFleur says she and her family have things to say about the role of families that could prevent other mentally ill people like Devon from dying in confrontations with police.
“There was no de-escalation. There was only yelling at Devon,” LaFleur said.
“Then, within less than a minute from the time police arrived, 23 shots were fired, eight of which went into Devon’s flesh and killed him. No one said, ‘We are here to help you. We want everyone to go home safely. Your family loves you and wants you to come home.’ They just shot and killed him.”
The coroner’s motto is to “speak for the dead to protect the living.”
An inquest is a hearing for the public, including the family and the community.
While an inquest does not find guilt or assign blame, it is aimed at preventing future tragedy.
And under proposed Ontario legislation that would transform policing and police watchdogs, families like Devon LaFleur’s would get that chance.
As it stands now, an inquest is mandatory only if the victim dies in police custody.
Since LaFleur was not in custody at the time of his death, an inquest would not be mandatory under current regulations.
However, the coroner’s office will often err on the side of a discretionary inquest after reviewing the circumstances of the death and speaking to the family, said Julia Noonan, a spokeswoman for the Chief Coroner’s Office. Under proposed legislation, changes to the Coroner’s Act would mean that the use of force by an officer that results in a death would always be the subject of an inquest.
On March 4, 2016, Devon LaFleur was on the run after an armed robbery earlier that day. He had headed from Ottawa to Toronto in an SUV he had stolen from his sister. Toronto police knew Devon was coming and were waiting for him.
Rena says the family had told police that Devon was carrying an inoperable BB gun, not a real firearm. He had schizophrenia and had not taken his medication.
The understanding that Devon’s family had with Toronto police was that plainclothes police officers would approach him and take him into custody to be brought to hospital. The family trusted police to protect Devon, his mother said.
The scenario unfolded much differently. Devon had arranged to meet a friend at a shopping mall.
An Ottawa police detective attempted to contact the friend and Ottawa police also gave their colleagues in Toronto a description of Devon, and said he was armed with a handgun, but added that his family reported that a pellet gun was missing and it was unclear if the same weapon had been used in the robbery.
A Toronto police sergeant contacted the friend around 9:30 p.m.
Police were dispatched to the mall to look for LaFleur and the stolen vehicle. Around 10 p.m., the friend told police she was in a cab on her way to an address on Bayview Avenue. Uniformed officers in three police vehicles were dispatched there.
Devon left the cab, and there was an exchange between LaFleur, who had what appeared to be a gun in his hand, and the officers.
The police yelled at him to drop the gun. Devon kept shouting, “What are you going to do?” His friend tried to wrestle it away from him. He pushed her away.
After Devon raised the weapon and pointed it at one of the officers, three officers discharged their guns. Devon was shot eight times and died soon after. The SIU concluded that the officers only fired after Devon raised his weapon.
The SIU assigned eight investigators and three forensic investigators to the case. But there are many questions that remain unanswered, said Rena LaFleur.
The SIU report made no reference to the family’s involvement or their request to send plainclothes officers to intercept Devon. She wants to know why there was no mental health professional on the scene, and why police were not prepared to use less deadly force such as tasers.
Rena believes an inquest would be valuable to highlight the role that family can play.