Jury in Shantz inquest recommends mental health policy changes for RCMP

After listening to seven days of testimony, the jury in the coroner's inquest into the police-involved shooting death of Barry Shantz deliberated for just over four hours before returning with its verdict and a pair of recommendations.

The jury classified the death a homicide, a neutral term with no criminal aspect, because Shantz's death was caused by the deliberate actions of another person.

An RCMP sniper shot and killed Shantz on the Skuppah Reserve just outside of Lytton on Jan. 13, 2020.

Hours earlier, Shantz's partner had called 911 to report that Shantz was suicidal and had a shotgun.

When a pair of RCMP officers responded to that call, Shantz yelled at them from a second floor window and then fired a single shot that damaged the roof overhang above the window.

During the ensuing six-hour standoff, Shantz would also place a call to 911 to tell the dispatcher that he planned to walk out of the house at 2:06 p.m. with his shotgun in his hand and he wanted to be shot by police.

"I'm going to walk towards the armed officers with my shotgun so I got to get real close to do anything. So I prefer some really nice precision shooting here today," he said in a recording of the 911 call played at the inquest.

The jury heard that a psychologist used by the RCMP in situations where officers are negotiating with people in mental distress did not return a voicemail left by crisis negotiators until two weeks after Shantz had been shot and killed.

In a recommendation to the Minister of Health and the RCMP, the jury suggested police should have better access to mental health professionals.

"Improve access to mental health services so that when a crisis negotiation team is deployed, a mental health professional with advanced qualifications and access to medical records/history, be activated to support the crisis negotiation team in decision-making," the jury wrote.

The second recommendation also pertains to mental health and was addressed to the RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services.

"Enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote better communication that permits and encourages agencies to co-ordinate available mental health resources and expertise during a mental health crisis call," the jury recommended.

In life, Barry Shantz worked tirelessly to defend vulnerable and marginalized people.

"That's his legacy," Shantz’s sister Marilyn Farquhar said in an interview with CTV News.

She travelled from her home in Ontario to attend the inquest and said some of what she heard was very concerning.

In particular, she took issue with the fact the RCMP did not have access to a mental health professional during the standoff.

Farquhar was also upset to learn that recordings of her brother's interactions with crisis negotiators had somehow been lost by the RCMP and were not available for the inquest.

The Independent Investigations Office cleared police of any wrongdoing in Shantz's death – but Farquhar doesn't think that investigation was adequate.

During the inquest, she learned investigators with the provincial police watchdog had not interviewed the RCMP's critical incident commander – who gave snipers the green light to use lethal force against her brother – or the crisis negotiators.

"How did the negotiator speak to Barry? We don't know what he said and how he said it. And we don't have a neutral party there," Farquhar said.

Her lawyer also took issue with the fact that the RCMP leader who instructed snipers to shoot Shantz was not interviewed.

"How did we get to that outcome? What could have been done differently at the start to de-escalate this rather than ramp it up into a paramilitary operation?" asked lawyer Tonia Grace.

On the final day of testimony, IIO investigator Simon Bradshaw acknowledged the investigation could have been more thorough.

“With hindsight, there is always more you can do," Bradshaw testified. "It’s things like, for example, the crisis negotiation team and the critical incident commander.”

For Farquhar, sitting in on the inquest has been part of her grieving process – and she hopes her brother's tragic death won't be in vain.

"There were a lot of missed opportunities, so it is my hope and goal that as a result of this that positive change can happen that makes Barry's death meaningful," Farquhar said.