October 17, 2013 - 10:03 AM
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Audio of the last moments of a conversation between distraught army veteran Greg Matters and an RCMP officer has been released after it was heard by a coroner's jury in Prince George, B.C.
The inquest is examining the police shooting death of the former soldier last September on the man's rural property that he shared with his mother.
Only the voice of now-Insp. Brad Anderson can be heard on the half-hour tape, but it suggests he was gaining rapport with Matters and, at one point, had coaxed the 40-year-old to within steps of surrender.
But Matters, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, suddenly retreats to a house on the property and the tape suggests Matters is growing increasingly anxious.
Anderson reminds Matters that police are nearby but Matters abandons the conversation and rushes outside just as the officer beside Anderson, who is in touch with Mounties at the scene, warns things are escalating.
Moments later, Matters was fatally shot, and, under cross-examination at the inquest earlier this week, Anderson told the coroners's jury that he felt the operation was unsuccessful because he failed to peacefully resolve it.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013