Greg Matters is shown in an undated photo provided by his family.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho
January 30, 2014 - 10:07 AM
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A coroner's jury in Prince George, B.C., is considering its recommendations as the inquest into the fatal police shooting of a disabled former soldier draws to a close.
Jurors have gone behind closed doors after hearing 30 witnesses testify about the September 2012 shooting of Greg Matters.
The 15-year military veteran was shot twice in the back after his rural Prince George property was surrounded by an RCMP emergency response team as officers tried to arrest him for assaulting his brother.
Evidence at the final day of the inquest centred on a hatchet that ERT members allege the 40-year-old suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was wielding in the moments before he was shot.
Independent Investigations Office member Robin Stutt said statements from ERT members differed on when they saw Matters carrying the hatchet and in which hand it was held.
The lawyer representing the Matters family says the testimony raises doubts about whether the shooting of the former peacekeeper was justified. (CKPG)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014