An expert told a Quebec coroner’s inquiry into the police shooting of a 17-year-old teen today that the longer an intervention goes, the better the chance of a peaceful outcome.
He was among the last witnesses at the inquest looking at the death of Riley Fairholm, who was killed by Quebec provincial police after they encountered him in distress and waving an air pistol early on July 25, 2018.
The entire interaction in the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant in Lac-Brome, Que., lasted just over a minute, with a veteran police officer repeatedly telling Fairholm to drop his weapon before one of the six officers who responded shot the teen in the head.
Michael Arruda, a retired Montreal police officer and specialist in crisis interventions, says his training urges officers to stretch out the encounter when possible, giving time for backup, non-lethal weapons and other partners to get involved.
Earlier today, a researcher with Quebec’s police academy gave the inquiry an overview of the phenomenon of suicide by police officer, in which someone seeking to end their life prompts a confrontation with police.
The inquest, presided over by coroner Géhane Kamel, is expected to wrap after hearing from a final expert who was asked to assess the police intervention involving Fairholm.
