Geoffrey Morris inquest jury calls for elders, body cams present in crisis situations

A coroner's inquest into the 2019 killing of Geoffrey Morris ended Wednesday after three days of testimony, with the jury making four recommendations that deal with policing Indigenous people and mental health.

The five-person jury made up of two Indigenous people and three white people determined Morris, a 41-year-old Mtisman, died by suicide despite being shot in the head by a Regina police officer.

For three days, the jury heard how Morris provoked police into killing him what's commonly referred to as "suicide by cop" by holding his fiance, Jasmine Papasquash, hostage by holding two knives up to her neck.

In a police statement following the killing, Papasquash said Morris was suicidalandwanted to die by"suicide by cop," and said she believed this is how he wanted it all to end.

Aaron Fox, who represents Cpl. Devon Lee Sterling, the officer who fired the fatal bullet, said the most significant part of the inquest was the fiance's police statement, which was presented to the jury.

"It really didn't leave room for any debate as to what unfortunately was going on," Fox said.

Call for body cams, on-call psychologists

Following four hours of deliberations, the jury made four recommendations for the Regina Police Service, with some of them addressed to the service's crisis negotiation team and non-commissioned officers.

Their recommendations include having a mandatory psychologist on scene with a crisis negotiation team, and having a list of on-call psychologists.

During the Morris inquest, the jury heard that a psychologist never arrived on the scene before Morris was fatally shot by Sterling.

Other recommendations include annual training for mental health crisis intervention, de-escalation strategies, addiction and psychosis strategies.

The jury also said crisis teams shouldwear body camerasand have audio recording devices on a lanyard or in a holster, and said the police service should make a formal policy to always use a full negotiation team.

Just two negotiators arrived atMorris's apartment the night he was killed. The lead negotiator had been in the role for just three weeks. It was her firsthostage situation.

Typically four to five people attend a hostage situation in Regina. The Regina Police Service has since adopted the practice to ensure a full team is sent, but it's not an official policy.

Additionally, hostage situations are always filmed, but during the Morris incident, the team's camera was not working.

The inquest jury also called for all non-commissioned officers to wear body cameras when called to a scene as a supervisor.

Elders could have helped negotiations: sergeant

The jury also recommended Regina police"have an emergency list of elders willing to attend (in person or via digital communication)."

On Tuesday, Morris's mother stood up and addressedSterling, who killed her son.

She accused the Regina Police Service of pushing him toward a hostage situation by not being sensitive to Indigenous people and their experiences.

"A Native is not going to talk to [an] all-white [group]," said the woman, who declined to provide her name when approached by CBC after Tuesday's hearing.

"There have to be Natives, or even Mtis people in there to calm a situation. You guys just escalated everything. You pushed it."

The Morris family declined to comment for this story.

Sgt. Guy Criddle, who was a team lead the day Morris was killed, testified that the presence of an elder could have helped the negotiations.

"Based on my experiences with elders, I think that may have helped," Criddle testified. "Absolutely."

The jury's final recommendation was asking the Regina Police Service to bring awareness to the public surrounding people's mental health options and a mental health warrant.

"What's tragic is this was a man who obviously needed a lot of help in a number of areas, in mental health and probably drug addiction. So you have to look at how did we get in that spot, and what can we do to make sure that he gets the help that he needs," Fox said following the jury's recommendations.

"Those aren't easy answers, they're big problems that need to be addressed, but that came out loud and clear in this inquest."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.

For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.

You can also contact the Saskatchewan suicide prevention line toll-free, 24/7 by calling 1-833-456-4566, texting 45645, or chatting online.

You can contact the Regina mobile crisis services suicide line at 306-525-5333 or Saskatoon mobile crisis line at 306-933-6200.

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

Kids Help Phone can also be reached at 1-800-668-6868, or you can access live chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca.