Police shooting of Jermaine Carby began with carding, officer testifies

An incident of carding started a chain reaction that led to the death of Jermaine Carby, Const. Jason Senechal admitted on the stand during the inquest into the fatal shooting.

Carby, 33, was shot and killed after the car he was in was pulled over near Kennedy Road North and Queen Street East around 10 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2014.

Const. Senechal told the inquest he pulled over the vehicle due to drunk driving concerns. Carby was the passenger in the vehicle.

Senechal said he asked for Carby’s identification for carding purposes.

According to police, Carby began threatening officers with a large knife. An officer, who has not been identified, opened fire, hitting Carby with three bullets.

The director of the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Tony Loparco, ruled the killing was in self-defence and no charges were laid.

“I am satisfied that the officer discharged his firearm at Mr. Carby for the purpose of protecting and defending himself as well as other officers,” Loparco said at the time.

(To watch the video on mobile click here)

Loparco did, however, criticize Peel police for their handling of evidence. The knife allegedly wielded by Carby was removed from the scene by police before the SIU arrived. It was only several hours later that the weapon was turned over to investigators.

A coroner’s toxicology report found that Carby had amphetamine, methamphetamine, marijuana and traces of an anti-depressant in his system at the time of his death.

The coroner’s report also indicated Carby suffered from mental health issues, including depression, and had been in hospital seeking treatment just days before he was killed.

Along with the fatal shooting of Andrew Loku, Carby’s death has drawn the attention of Black Lives Matter and raised the public’s questioning of SIU protocol.

Following the SIU’s decision not to charge the officer responsible for Carby’s death, the victim’s family had a five-hour meeting with Loparco, but still had questions about the presence of the knife. The family then asked for the full SIU report to be released, similar to that of Loku’s case.

(To watch the video on mobile click here)

“I’m hoping for them to release the full report of Jermaine Carby. Exactly just like Andrew Loku,” Carby’s cousin, La Tanya Grant, said outside court Monday.

“The same way they got the resistance for [releasing the Loku report], I’m expecting we’re going to have the same [resistance] for this and seeing how we’re in the middle of the inquest, I doubt that they’re going release that to us right away,” Grant continued.

She said the family is hoping that this inquest changes police use of force.

“Police need to stop using excessive force and be accountable for their actions,” Grant said.