Coroners jury recommends better supports for police attending mental health incidents

Case managers in the public health service need to remain in regular contact with clients suffering chronic schizophreniawho have a history of not taking theirmedication, the jury in an inquest into a police-involveddeathhas recommended.

Therecommendation wasthe first of three made by theB.C. Coroners Inquestjury into the police shootingofKyaw Naing Maungin his Maple Ridge bedroom in August 2019.

Maung, 54, had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication and was experiencinga mental health emergency when he was shot three times by a Ridge Meadows RCMPofficer.

Police and ambulance paramedics came to the house after his sister called 911 to request he be taken to hospital, as had happened previously without incident when hewas off his anti psychotic drugs.

The jury also recommended increasingfunding for resources to support first responders and dispatchers dealing with mental health incidents, and the creation of amental health and addiction awareness teaching model to address stigma around issues of mental health.

The jury heard how police are usually first responders to a growing number of mental health incidents.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which looks into police-involved deaths, said police use of force in the case was "reasonable" because Maung charged the officers who entered his room with a paring knife. It said the circumstances did not meet the bar for criminal charges against police.

An attempt by an officer to immobilize Maung with a Taser failed when one of the two prongs did not attach to him.

Maung's siblings were adamant throughoutthe IIOinvestigation and Coroners Inquest that theofficers involved should be charged with murder.

Coroners inquests are not responsible for finding legal responsibility or making legal conclusions, but coroners juries can make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

Maung's sister, Yin Yin Din, told the inquest that she asked police to wait five minutes for older siblings to arrive and help de-escalate the situation. She said officers ignored her request and enteredMaung's room anyway.

The jury also heard how the situation was complicated by the fact that Maungspoke only Burmese, meaningboth he and police needed his sister to act as a translator.

The first two officers on scene said they decided to apprehend Maung under the Mental Health Act because he was schizophrenic, off his medication and presenting a danger to himself and others.