The RCMP officer has retired and moved outside B.C., the inquest was told
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A B.C. Coroners Service inquest into the death of an Indigenous man shot and killed by RCMP in 2021 heard that the officer who used his firearm will not be testifying.
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Coroners can only compel testimony from people in British Columbia. The jury was told that RCMP Const. David Robichaud has retired and moved out of province and has chosen not to participate in the inquest.
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The weeklong inquest into the death of Julian Jones, a 28-year-old member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, opened on Tuesday in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.
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“There is nothing more we can do to compel Mr. Robichaud’s testimony and at this time we do not expect him to appear,” Rolf Warburton, the lawyer for the inquest, told the proceedings.
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The inquest will hear from other RCMP officers involved in the case, witnesses to the killing, and use-of-force experts.
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The officers involved in the incident were cleared in 2023 by the civilian-led Independent Investigation Office of B.C., which investigates when police cases result in death or serious harm.
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A coroner’s inquest is not designed to find fault but instead determines facts and makes recommendations to prevent future deaths under similar circumstances.
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The IIO report outlined that RCMP officers took a boat out to the community of Opitsaht on Meares Island, about two kilometres from Tofino, on Feb. 27, 2021 to respond to a 911 call of a woman being “taken advantage of sexually” and who was being prevented from leaving a house.
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After two RCMP officers entered the house, one man was handcuffed, and Jones was tasered when he advanced on the police. The IIO report noted that Jones got back up and came towards the officers holding hand files (used to sharpen tools) and he was shot several times.
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Luke Williston, a Tofino doctor who had seen Jones several times in a local clinic and had reviewed his medical history, told the jury the 28-year-old had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and disruptive-behaviour disorder, had learning disabilities, substance abuse problems involving alcohol, had suicidal thoughts, and had been treated from time to time for injuries, including a broken jaw and a lacerated hand that required plastic surgery.
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Williston noted that typically people with fetal alcohol syndrome will have cognitive effects, including struggles with attention, hyperactivity, memory, distraction, learning delays and trouble in school.
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Probation officer David Paruk outlined that Jones’s criminal record included assault, including of police officers, uttering threats and an incident where he had set up a camera at a Tofino hotel to secretly record nudity. The jury heard that Jones was under a condition not to have contact with three RCMP officers, including Robichaud.
