As the Coroner’s Inquest examining the deadly 2009 Vancouver Police shooting of a schizophrenic man enters day two, the lawyer representing Michael Vann Hubbard’s family is worried the inquest could be all for naught.
Doug King with Pivot Legal Society says recommendations from inquests can largely go unimplemented by police forces.
He notes there have been several recent similar cases dealing specifically with victims suffering from mental health issues, “We’re left with a position of asking what has really changed? If there’s not an enforcement mechanism to these recommendations, no accountability, then we have to wonder just how effective of a tool this is.”
King says it’s time to ask just how forceful Coroner’s Inquests can be.
At the end of testimony, a Coroner’s Jury ultimately comes back with non-binding recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents.
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