Three officers fired at man during fatal encounter

Several RCMP and Saskatoon police officers pointed their weapons at Steven Rigby on Dec. 22, 2018, and three fired at the 27-year-old man.

Rigby sustained three bullet wounds — to the arm, thigh and abdomen — and died of his injuries.

A coroner's inquest into his death heard on Tuesday that city police Const. Joel Lalonde, Const. Macaulay Senger and now-former Const. Nathan Lynchuk fired their weapons at Rigby after Rigby fired a .22-calibre pistol in their vicinity and pointed the weapon at them. The constables were armed with a carbine, shotgun and sidearm respectively. Senger's shotgun fire missed Rigby, the inquest heard.

Police were responding after Rigby's mother, Carey Rigby-wilcox, contacted them out of concern for his well-being. She had gone looking for him, and when she found him, he fired shots in the air before driving away.

Police located Rigby on the outskirts of Saskatoon by the landfill. Two videos from in-car cameras mounted in police vehicles were shown at the inquest on Tuesday, including some of Rigby's final moments. He had been driving, but got out of his vehicle.

The footage shows someone yelling at Rigby to drop his firearm, then a burst of police gunfire. Saskatoon Police Sgt. Tony Boensch said officers saw Rigby point the gun in their direction after he was ordered to drop it.

In one video, a voice is heard saying Rigby's finger was “on the trigger” during the several minutes between Rigby being shot and police finally approaching him on the ground.

Brian Pfefferle, the lawyer representing Rigby's family, Pfefferle asked if police could have fallen back given that Rigby wasn't dressed for the elements and his vehicle had been disabled by police. “I think the fact he had a firearm and was shooting it changes that narrative,” Boensch said.

RCMP Cpl. Dean Flaman, who responded to a 911 call, said confusion at the scene played a role in how events “transpired at the end.”

Rigby was driving a vehicle while talking to a friend, a Saskatoon police officer, on the phone.

Flaman said he tried to yell instructions at Rigby, but Rigby seemed to be more interested in his phone conversation than speaking with him. Flaman said Rigby appeared to receive conflicting commands from officers who were trying to control the situation.

The inquest has heard that Rigby's mental health suffered in the months leading up to his death and that, just days before he was fatally shot, he was admitted to the Irene and Leslie Dube Centre following a suicide attempt. He was released the next day.

Scott Spencer, a lawyer representing the Saskatchewan Health Authority, asked if officers at the scene had attempted to access information about Rigby's mental health history, including from his parents, who were nearby with police. Boensch said he did not believe so.

Spencer noted Rigby did not fire toward police and asked if Rigby firing at the ground or in the air was perceived differently than if he had fired toward officers.

Boensch said both would be perceived the same way.

Sgt. Aaron Moser, who was dispatched to supervise at the scene, testified he didn't see officers shoot Rigby, but heard gunfire.

Paramedics Alicia Westad and James Melnyk, who were dispatched to the scene, testified that they responded to reports of a suicidal man and waited at a staging area until they were cleared to go to Rigby.

They found him lying on the ground. Westad said Rigby had no pulse and was in cardiac arrest. Melnyk said Rigby's heart had little electrical activity and he was gasping. They performed CPR and transported him to Royal University Hospital.

Lynchuk, who fired the sidearm at Rigby, made headlines this spring when he attended an April 24 “children's freedom rally” in Kiwanis Park to protest public health restrictions. He subsequently resigned.