Matters Family Lawyer Poses Questions
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 @ 3:59 AM
Prince George, B.C. – The Coroner’s Inquest into the RCMP shooting death of Armed Forces veteran Greg Matters continues today.
The inquest expects to hear from Greg’s brother Trevor and mother Lorraine today.
During testimony yesterday, there was a level of frustration expressed by the lawyer for the Matters’ family. Cameron Ward, had , on two occasions, to ask the Coroner to call on the RCMP to provide him with copies of materials that were in the hands of the RCMP.
Ward requested copies of the photos that would have been taken of the “donuts” Trevor Matters was accused of making in the driveway of the home of Greg Matters and his mother Lorraine. He also had to ask the Coroner to call on the RCMP to provide him with a copy of the recorded statement Trevor Matters gave Constable Jason Dickinson when Dickinson arrived on scene to investigate the initial incident between Trevor and Greg.
Normally, such materials are made available well in advance of any court action or inquest.
Ward focused his questioning yesterday on the actions of the police in dealing with Lorraine Matters, Greg’s mother. He wanted to know why she had been arrested by police, why the diminutive 66 year old was not offered medical attention for injuries she says she sustained at the hands of police, why police detained her for 7 hours without charging her, why she was never offered the opportunity to speak to her son on the phone to try and de-escalate what had become a very tense situation, and why Lorraine Matters was not told her son’s fate until 2and a half hours after he had been fatally shot.
Comments
Because its another cover-up, man was shot in the back twice, trigger happy RCMP, should have let mom talk with him over the phone what harm could cause.
two times in the back???
Why, why, why was Lorraine not informed of what happened. Because the swat team was celebrating and so pumped up with adrenaline of their recent kill, they could not be bothered with such minor incidental details
So who called the cops on Greg?
Why was Trevor popping donuts in Greg’s yard, to aggravate a man under stress. What was Trevor’s motive to aggravate him.
Obviously, Trevor would have not allowed Greg to pop donuts in his yard. So what made Trevor think that this would be acceptable to do it in his yard.
Whatever the case I am disturbed by this “shoot first – ask questions later” idea that law enforcement in Canada now has. I think that we see too much of this cowboy mentality on US based news and television programs. The missing element here in Canada is the diffing gun culture. If the team rushed the decision to take the shot solely based on the fact that Matters was an ex-soldier and could possibly be armed, should frighten every ex-service man and woman in this country. There is no way that he posed a threat that even remotely matched the force used to “take him down”.
The bigger issue here is how we as a society treat people with mental issues. No more places to go. No more programs. Just let them all out on the street. Matters was a lucky one. He had a home to live in. This province needs to get back to hospital style settings and treatment for people struggling with mental issues. I think the retired military, RCMP and emergency services should be the first in line if they need help. Seeing that kind of human destruction for a living on a daily basis certainly would put me in the hospital if I was the one that had to do it.
It would appear that Mr. Ward doesn’t really care why Greg was shot, just that he is able to get more info for his civil case and big pay day for him.
Who got shot in back Steph?
Greg Matters was shot twice in the back according to reports coming out of this inquest.
Kick all the bums out and retrain some good people simple is that. Is it simple, nope. However it’s what has to be done. Until that happens don’t expect much more from RCMP okay. What you can bet is spending lots of of time in our very beautiful, over the top court house. What you can very much count on is long waits for court time. Many weeks showing up signing the bail paper at probation every week, which of course that is in our very expensive court house. You see because of the poor quality members that are within the RCMP, they charge first and let the court settle it out for them.
Pgguy123, are you kidding me? First off I wouldn’t believe everything the news tells you, especially with regard to Greg being shot in the back. You also said that they shot his because he was an ex-military? they shot him because he had a weapon in his hand and advanced on them! Lets not forget that the IIO cleared the Rcmp of any criminal wrongdoing, that’s because they were legally justified to shoot and kill him. There seems to be a perception out there that police enjoy killing people! They have to make a split second decision which could cost them there freedom or their job, and lets consider the mental health consequences of taking someone’s life. Shoot first eh? How long did this standoff last? Pretty sure the snipers could have shot him when they wanted to.
The use of deadly force must and always be a last resort, Mr Matters was advancing on the officers with a hatchet, Why did the highly trained highly, skilled members of the ERT team not take out his legs or shoot the hatchet from his hands?. Unless the skill level isnt there or it was not the intention
Proudtobepg watches way too many movies! They’re skilled, but when they fear death or grievous bodily harm, they’re trained to shoot the thickets part of the body, as its the most likely to stop the threat quickly and is the easiest place to hit under stressful circumstances. No police force in Canada is trained to shoot at legs or shoot objects out of people’s hands. If you want to criticize how police are trained that’s fair, but its not fair to criticize someone who did what he was trained to do. Lets not forget, Mr. Matters actions resulted in his death. Are you sure they didn’t try using non lethal options first? Stay tuned.
Please take the time to read the IIO report, especially the parts where the ERT team tried to deploy the taser but it failed as well as them telling Mr. Matters to drop the hatchet prior to him being shot. Just google search Greg matter IIO report.
What ever the RCMP shoot and ask questions later, just like the gangs do. So the RCMP are a gang with a badge. To many pro RCMP on this site. The RCMP can do no wrong to these posters on 250 News website eh.
I read the IIO report right when it was released and was outraged that criminal charges were not laid against the RCMP officers involved. It is no different than the Robert DziekaÅski case. Stapler or hatchet against (supposedly) trained officers with a police dog and various weapons at their disposal. Not only did they kill a man for no reason, their actions escalated the situation to the point rather than diffusing it. Very shameful, but not surprising given the current RCMP culture.
Thank you cutbanks54.
He Spoke – he would if he was trying to get the police to kill him, as he had threatened previously
You watch too much tv as well
“The RCMP can do no wrong to these posters on 250 News website eh”
More like – no matter what the RCMP do, the cop haters will bash them EH
This whole operation was a screw up from the beginning. Two days of observation and that was the result, a murder clear and simple. Family, friends, his physiatrist where not allowed to talk to him, why?
Greg was rushed by a cop with a tazer, rushed kind of dumb ass if you ask me. There was a cop with a bean bag gun but he was blocked from shooting. What don’t these keystone cops communicate.
The cops said he was advancing with a hatchet, advancing or attacking? They said advancing so then why did not the bean bag cop get into position. Advancing does not sound like an immediate threat to me. Its seems like the cops could have backed up and regrouped.
As for not shooting at the legs that is bullshit. If the person is relatively stabile the shot should be no issue. Lots of people have been killed because of this policy.
Uppercanadian are you kidding me with past examples I wouldn’t believe anything the cops said.
ab
Hey I bet the shooter is getting more therapy than Matters ever did. Probably along the lines of that was a good shoot. Not realising the piss poor training he received.
Due to past examples I would take with a grain of salt anything the gang had to say without video evidence.
With what information that has been released it is almost seems Matters was enticed to react.
Yes the cops where scared of him and this clouded their thinking.
Unfortunately, I do watch too much TV, but its mostly HGTV and Food channel.
I wouldn’t say I am a cop hater. Nope, I just think they got used to do the dirty work.
Obviously if he had wanted to be killed by the RCMP, I am sure he would have been a bit more aggressive such as shoot off a gun.
I am just surprised, How far away was he shot at, was the RCMP really in danger for their lives. I think as mentioned earlier, shoot his leg. Obviously he was in one of the officers cross hair from the second he stepped out of the cabin. Just a horrible situation made worse by hiding and lying.
Just admit, yep we had options and failed to exercise those options.
It is not a crime to have mental health issues.
What these cops have done in there lifetime in service to their country, is absolutely minute in comparison to what Greg Matters did.
So what makes their lives more important than his?
Alot of speculation indeed.How many of you were there to see & hear exactly what happened? Do the police enjoy killing? Probably not. Were there mistakes made? Probably. To speculate & outright libel someone; “Did he really have the hatchet, or was it planted on him after he was shot.” At least keep your speculations in the realm of reality, not some JFK conspiracy crap.
“What these cops have done in there lifetime in service to their country, is absolutely minute in comparison to what Greg Matters did.” You know this how? I can tell you if someone was approaching me with a hatchet raised in a threatening manner I wouldn’t pause to consider if their life was more important than my own. Dollars to donuts neither would any one of you.
Why call someone a cop hater? People are simply asking questions about the way it was handled. One would assume that if there was a standoff, there are things that can happen to either escalate the event or bring it to a successful ending. A dead guy at the end of it all is not a successful ending. Things that can and should happen are communication with professionals that are trained to assist in the decision process. A psychologist who has spent time and has a career dealing with this stuff should be given a chance to try and mitigate a good conclusion.
If this was a 5 minute event with a guy with a gun then a lot of the actions are explained. The fact that this was a long haul operation tells me that poor decisions were made. Were they illegal decisions that need to be punished. Not a lawyer so can’t say. Seems that more could have been done based on the fact that nobody got to talk to the guy.
Uppercanadian Of all the movies I may have watched I have yet to see one where an ERT member facing death or grievous bodily harm shoots someone in the back. It seems to be standard operating procedure to claim that ” I feared for my life” just like the excuse the four big guys at the airport had encountering a staple wielding tourist
If someone is approaching you with a hatchet. You are expected to call 911. If you harm the guy, you can charged with a criminal offence. So in Canada you really can’t protect yourself. I found that out the hard way.
It’s a BS society.
This also goes in the other direction. An RCMP officer is charged with wreckless firing of his gun when he shot at a guy who stole a car in the lower mainland, pepper sprayed and threw out the owner, had car troubles in Cranbrook, commandeered another car, pepper sprayed that owner and threw him out of the car and was involved in a police chase. The chase ended in a dead end street and the RCMP shot the guy twice through the car door hitting him in the back and arm.
This RCMP did the right thing and he is being charges. The whole system is ridiculous.
Speculators and cop haters are having fun with this.
well, I am not a cop hater. They still have to do their jobs correctly. Its my opinion that Greg could still be around today. Looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner with his mother!
OK, I get the hint.
I speak the truth…..Scurge in Red …well they speak for themselves.
he spoke- mental health issues or not – you can not go around threatening people
WOW the blatant hate for the RCMP and Police in general is crazy on this site! It makes me laugh that the same folks are the first ones to call the police when it gets noisy or they feel threatened.
The cop in Cranbrook “discharged his service weapon” eleven times, and managed to wing the dumb ass criminal twice. I would think the criminal might have laughed at the situation, 11 projectiles whizzing past him and only two touched him. My opinion? well since you asked, I think that a lot of cops panic once they have their hand gun in hand. I think their trigger finger gets ‘twitchy’ Maybe they should all go back to revolvers, not so easy to accidentally fire multiple shots.
metalman.
We need to kick the RCMP out their are useless! To solve this RCMP problem we need to get community policing. All these guys are here for 6 months and leave so they don’t care about anything here. All the police should live here. I recently called the cops three nights in a row due to a guy stealing from my house and they told me they were to busy. I even seen the guys picture in the newspaper that they had posted it in their saying the RCMP are looking for him because he did some major vandalizing and when I called to tell them I was watching him steal from my neighbor they had no clue what I was talking about and showed no interest in dealing with it. They did wrong in this case and I hope they are punished for it and its not another case where the RCMP gets a slap on their wrist. They will not stop unless something is done about it. They are killing people. That’s insane!
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