Lawyer says Baker case ruling ‘favours transparency’

KITCHENER — A judge’s ruling to deny an officer anonymity at a coroner’s inquest into the 2015 fatal shooting of Beau Baker favours transparency, says the lawyer representing Baker’s mother.

In an email Friday Akosua Matthews said Baker’s mother is pleased with the decision made by Justice Patrick Flynn Thursday.

“This is an important decision for victims and family members of individuals shot and killed by police,” she said. “The decision is also important because it indicates that largely anonymous social media rants against the police are not, on their own, evidence of direct harm to a police officer. Police must bring better evidence to court.”

Earlier this month a Waterloo Regional Police officer had argued for anonymity in an upcoming coroner’s inquest into the death of Baker, scheduled for February next year. This could include testifying behind a screen or from a different room while using a pseudonym. Inquests are a means to examine how Baker died, without assigning blame, and to make recommendations to prevent future deaths. The officer told the court he feared for his safety and that of his family, pointing to social media posts suggesting retribution for his actions. The Waterloo Regional Police Service and Chief Bryan Larkin supported the officer’s position.

Baker’s mother opposed the request and Flynn ultimately ruled in her favour, deciding that neither a publication ban nor anonymity were justified in this case.

“The public has the right to scrutinize and comment upon the administration of justice in this coroner’s inquest,” Flynn said in his ruling. “That can only be effectively accomplished in the bright light of day; there is no better disinfectant than bright sunlight.”

The lawyer for the officer, Lucas O’Hara, did not respond to The Record’s request for comment Friday.

Baker was 20-years-old when he was shot by an officer at a Kitchener apartment building — Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said the responding officer was “legally justified in discharging his weapon.”

Just prior to the encounter, Baker had called 911 and told an operator he wanted to kill himself and that he had a knife and would hurt others, including police and paramedics.

When police arrived, Baker reportedly moved toward an officer with a knife. The officer ordered him to drop it before firing seven times.

-with files from Jeff Outhit