The B.C. Coroners Service has scheduled an inquest into the 2016 death of Craig Andrew Ford, who was shot and killed by a Nanaimo RCMP officer after ignoring several commands to drop a knife.
The inquest is set for July 27 in the Nanaimo courthouse.
The B.C. Coroners Service gathers facts about why a death took place. It is not tasked with finding fault.
An inquest puts forward questions on behalf of the public, said coroners service spokesman Andy Watson. One must be held if the deceased was considered to be in the care or control of a peace officer.
The Independent Investigations Office, which looks at police-related incidents resulting in serious harm or death, ruled out criminal charges against the officer involved.
Ford, 49, was killed outside a Dairy Queen near Norwell Drive and Highway 19A, near Wellington Secondary School, at about 10:20 a.m. on June 14, 2016.
Three officers responded to a report of a man carrying a knife, with the first officer on the scene telling him police were there to help him.
The IIO investigation found that Ford walked toward the officer, coming within about 1.5 metres, which forced her to move to the rear of her police car.
At that point another officer — the one who eventually fired at Ford — arrived and yelled at the him to drop the knife. Ford then began walking in that officer’s direction.
That officer radioed for a Taser to be brought to the scene because none of the officers had one.
A nearby resident reported seeing a man holding the knife at waist level with the blade pointing outward. The person who called 911 said the man came at officers with the knife in his hand.
The caller, who took a cellphone video of the man approaching officers, said he was afraid one of them would be stabbed.
Two shots were fired and Ford fell to the ground. The knife was still in his hand, and an officer kicked it away.
Ford died in hospital.
The IIO interviewed 18 witnesses and reviewed the cellphone video and police radio transmissions.
The officer “had to act quickly to protect himself and had little time to weigh his options,” the IIO said.
