Province calls inquest into police shooting of Quinn MacDougall

The province has announced an inquest will be held into the death of Hamilton teen Quinn MacDougall.

The 19-year-old died on April 3, 2018, after he was shot by Hamilton police outside of his Caledon Avenue townhouse on the Mountain.

The inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act.

Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, previously cleared the two officers involved in the shooting after a year-long probe.

According to the SIU, MacDougall called police for help several times to report that he had seen a man with a gun. When police arrived, they encountered MacDougall on a driveway in the townhouse complex.

One witness previously said they believed MacDougall was holding a cellphone.

However, the SIU incident narrative said he had a knife in his right hand and charged without warning."

One officer attempted to subdue MacDougall using his Taser, but to no effect. Other officers were shouting for him to drop the knife, the SIU said.

The SIU said MacDougall raised the knife and directed it at the head" of an officer seated in a police vehicle with the window rolled down. That officer rolled up his window and MacDougall ran down the street toward another parked vehicle.

The first officer was placing another cartridge in the Taser and approached. The SIU said MacDougall then charged at the officer with the knife held above his head." The officer again deployed his Taser with no effect.

MacDougall continued to charge" at the officer with the knife raised, the SIU said. Fearing for his life, the officer switched to his firearm.

As MacDougall got closer, two officers at the scene fired simultaneously. One hit MacDougall, who died at the scene.

MacDougall's family previously told The Spectator the SIU report left them with questions and little closure." The teen's then-girlfriend also said he had no history of mental illness.

The inquest, which will examine the events surrounding MacDougall's death and could lead to recommendations for preventing similar deaths, will start on Feb. 28.

Dr. David Eden will preside over the inquest, which is expected to last 10 days and hear from roughly 21 witnesses.

The inquest will be conducted by video conference. Members of the public will be able to view the proceedings online.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com