REGINA 鈥� The third day of the coroner鈥檚 inquest into the death of Ray Bitternose continued today at the Royal Hotel in Regina with testimony from a forensic expert and the officer who fired the ultimately fatal shot.
Bitternose died on July 6, 2021 after a standoff with RCMP on the George Gordon First Nation. Police received a call that day of a man carrying a weapon, threatening to shoot people. Two members of the Punnichy RCMP Detachment initially responded to the call, and after a verbal exchange, Bitternose was shot. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
This morning saw the final two witnesses called to give testimony, the first being Dr. Andreea Nistor - an expert in forensic pathology who conducted the autopsy on Bitternose.
She confirmed the cause of death being the shot fired.
鈥淭here was nothing else significant externally other than the gunshot wound,鈥� Dr. Nistor told Coroner counsel Robin Ritter during a line of questioning about her findings.
Dr. Nistor noted that the bullet had fragmented, with those fragments causing serious damage to internal organs - especially the liver and right kidney, which she described as 鈥渜uite destroyed.鈥�
She could not find an exit wound, and estimated over a litre of blood was lost as a result of the injury. Dr. Nistor pointed to the rapid blood loss Bitternose experienced as an aggravating factor; adding that even if the shooting occurred in the parking lot of a hospital, the chance of recovery would be unlikely.
She also found that Bitternose had some heart disease, which also contributed to the rapid blood loss.
鈥淎n individual with heart disease has less tolerance to blood loss than a perfectly healthy person with a perfectly healthy heart,鈥� she explained.
The final witness was Cpl. Colin Marco, who had worked at the Punnichy Detachment for 12 years and responded to the call that fateful day. He was also the officer engaged in the standoff with Bitternose.
He described details leading up to the call for service on George Gordon First Nation, and how he and a partner had been looking for Bitternose the day previous, acting on a mental health warrant. The pair could not find Bitternose on July 5, who was reported to have left his home on foot toward Punnichy.
On the afternoon of July 6, Cpl. Marco was at his home on lunch break when the call regarding a man with a gun came through. He described stopping at the Punnichy Detachment to retrieve heavy armour and another member before heading out to George Gordon First Nation.
RCMP lawyer Sean Sass asked Cpl. Marco about the verbal exchange that ensued between himself and Bitternose.
Cpl. Marco replied that he exited the RCMP truck and instructed Bitternose to stop, identified himself as being an officer, told him to put the gun down and that he was under arrest.
鈥淗e refused, said, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to do that. Might as well just take your shot, I don鈥檛 have anything I want to live for鈥�,鈥� Cpl. Marco recalled. 鈥淗e repeated to me multiple times, 鈥榯ake the shot, take the shot鈥�.鈥�
Cpl. Marco remembered trying to de-escalate the situation, telling Bitternose that he did not want to shoot him. Through conversation that lasted around eight minutes, Cpl. Marco tried to calm Bitternose, suggesting that he speak with an elder or a nurse from the clinic. Cpl. Marco assured Bitternose that he wanted to help, continuing to get the man to put the rifle down.
During the interaction, Cpl. Marco noted Bitternose held his firearm by the middle of the stock, shifting it from hand to hand as he spoke. The situation intensified once Cpl. Marco mentioned taking Bitternose to see a doctor.
鈥淎t that point, it was like a switch flipped,鈥� Cpl. Marco told Sass. 鈥淗e said to me, 鈥榙octors can鈥檛 help me鈥�.鈥�
Bitternose changed his grip on the gun, placing his finger on the trigger of the firearm that the officer had no idea was inoperable.
鈥淭hat was when he said the last thing he said to me, 鈥榙o what you got to do, officer,鈥� and pointed the gun at me,鈥� Cpl. Marco said. 鈥淚 did not want any of what happened to happen.鈥�
Sass asked about what police training dictates in a situation when facing a person with a firearm.
鈥淎t that point, I believed that he had the ability to cause me death or grievous bodily harm,鈥� Cpl. Marco explained. 鈥淥ur use of force model shows that an individual that is presenting that type of behaviour can be met with lethal force.鈥�
The event led to Cpl. Marco going on sick leave for five months and taking another position with the RCMP outside of Punnichy.
The afternoon will be up to the jurors, who now need to determine facts about the deceased person, discover any dangerous practices or conditions that may had led to the death, and make recommendations to hopefully prevent further deaths.
The inquest is anticipated to conclude this afternoon with the jury's decision.
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