Tell us what happened the night that Beau Baker died

The time has come to answer all the questions surrounding the death of Beau Baker at the hands of a Waterloo Regional Police officer three full years ago.

Yet from the Ontario government, we hear only continuing, seemingly uncaring, silence. Why?

A suicidal man with serious mental health issues, Baker was armed with a knife when he was gunned down outside his Kitchener apartment on April 2, 2015.

The fatal shooting of a civilian by police is an extraordinary event in Waterloo Region, and a year and a half later — in October 2016 — Ontario’s deputy chief coroner announced an inquest would be held to shed as much light as possible on the tragedy.

Despite the wisdom of this decision, another year and a half has passed since it was made and the coroner’s inquest has not begun.

This delay is unreasonable, unacceptable and unconscionable.

Baker’s still-grieving family members have never received the full accounting of his death they say would give them closure, if not peace.

Many people in this community want to know why a psychologically disturbed individual had to die from a police bullet instead of receiving the professional help he needed to live.

If provincial authorities concluded a coroner’s inquest serves the public interest, why, after all this time, hasn’t the inquest been held or even scheduled?

To say this is not to imply the 10 police officers who responded to the emergency call that April night in 2015 got everything wrong.

They faced a daunting, dangerous emergency. Baker had called a 911 dispatcher and threatened to kill himself and others with a knife. After defying an order from the police officer to lie on the ground, Baker warned he would stab him and lunged at him. That’s when Baker was shot.

To be sure, the province’s Special Investigations Unit has already sifted through the accounts from police officers and 21 witnesses who were at the scene that night and concluded the actions of the constable who shot Baker were justifiable.

But you don’t have to dismiss the SIU report to demand that the coroner’s inquest proceed ASAP.

The Special Investigations Unit does not hold its hearings in public; it simply reports its findings.

We need a full public airing of how and why Baker died.

Could Baker’s life have been saved if the police had received better training?

Should a police officer equipped with a stun gun have answered the call? Was there a way to have dealt with this troubled young man without having to shoot him?

Didn’t the real crisis that night involve mental health, not crime?

An inquest into Baker’s death could consider such issues, address the family’s concerns in a public forum and issue recommendations that might prevent future deaths in similar situations.

But with every day that passes without this inquest starting its necessary work, the memories of witnesses fade. And the chances of effectively changing emergency response procedures become more remote.

We do not know — or care — whether this inquiry has been delayed by bureaucratic, funding or scheduling issues.

All we know is that the public and Baker’s heartbroken family deserve the attention and thoughtful consideration only an inquest can provide.

Make that happen, Queen’s Park. Set a date. Now.