Police Warned About Mental Issues Before Fatal Shooting: Family
Posted August 31, 2010 7:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A man killed in a police shooting was suffering from mental health issues as well as emotional distress, his family claims.
Reyal Jensen Jardine-Douglas, 25, was fatally shot on Sunday. Officers had been called to a TTC bus over reports there was a man armed with a knife on board.
But Jardine-Douglas’ own family had called 911 not long before from the intersection of Lawrence and Victoria Park avenues. They had followed him there because he had been suffering from paranoia and other mental problems and they wanted to get him to a hospital.
“The dispatcher was told on more than one occasion of Reyal’s mental health condition,” the family said in a statement to the Coroner.
“He was not exhibiting any violent behaviours at the time.”
When police arrived, the family reportedly told them Jardine-Douglas had boarded the #24 Victoria Park bus and mentioned his mental condition. The two officers stayed with the family and were the ones to tell them Jardine-Douglas had been killed.
Witnesses said Jardine-Douglas had stepped off the bus on Victoria Park Avenue at Biscayne Boulevard around 3pm and was then shot at least three times. A knife was found on the ground beside his body.
The SIU is on the case and Toronto Police cannot speak about the investigation.
“I believe that the actions of the subject officer stopped a potentially lethal threat to the lives of passengers on the bus and that he discharged his weapon in self-defence,” police union lawyer Joseph Markson said in a statement.
Anyone with information should contact police at 416-622-0748 or 1-800-787-8529.
