Autopsy found nothing inconsistent with Joe Smyth account of Dunphy shooting

The forensic pathologist who examined Don Dunphy's body after he was fatally shot said the evidence he collected supported Const. Joe Smyth's account of what took place in MitchellsBrook on Easter Sunday 2015.

"There was nothing inconsistent with what Smyth said happened," Dr. Simon Avis, Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical examiner, told a judicial inquiry into the shooting on Monday.

Dunphy, 58, was shot and killed in his St. Mary's Bay home bySmyth, 38, who had gone there to investigate tweets Dunphy had posted about politicians.

Smyth, a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer, worked for the premier's security unit at the time.

He testified at the inquiry that he fired atDunphyfour times afterDunphypointed a22-calibrerifle at him. TheRCMPinvestigated the shooting and concluded thatSmythused appropriate force, and no charges were laid.

Three gunshot wounds

Avis said he found evidence that three bullets hit Dunphy. The first hit his upper torso, the second and thirdhit his head.

The medical examiner told the inquiry that it is possible that Dunphy remained alive and continuedto point a gun at Smyth after the first two shots but he believes the third bullet would have stopped him completely.

"The first two were not not immediately fatal. After those, he could still be a threat," said Avis.

"He could hold the rifle and continue to be a risk until the last shot."

Avis was questioned about the report written by an independent observer of the RCMP's investigation of the shooting.

Retired judge David Riche suggested Avis told him that the first shot, the shot to the body,killed Dunphyand the other shots weren'tnecessary. Avis disputed this.

"He must havecompletely misunderstood everything I said."

Asked about the position of Dunphy's rifle in police photographs taken after the shooting, Avis said that after looking at many gun deaths primarily suicides itdoesn't concern him.

"Guns don't always end up where you expect them to," said Avis.

"It's possible the gun fell out of his hands, thebarrel hit ground and it landed where it appeared on the bin in the photograph," he said.

Murder allegation

Earlier Monday, Smyth's lawyer Jerome Kennedy said he wants the inquiry to addressallegations thatSmythmurderedDon Dunphy on April 5,2015.

"An allegation is being made at the inquirythat Smyth murdered Dunphy and then staged the scene,"Kennedy said

"Smythcould be charged with seconddegree murder if he shot a man who raised a stick at him."

Kennedy's comments came during an argument to call a forensic psychologist to explain discrepancies in what Smyth remembers about the day of the shooting.

But the judge leading the inquiry doesn't agree there hasbeen an allegation of murder. He said insteadthat there may be an allegation of what he called "negligence."

"Evidence is at worst that Smyth acted too quickly," saidLeo Barry.

Kennedy applied Monday morningto call a forensic psychologist to address questions about how a police officer's memory and perception are affected by shooting and killing someone.

He believed it might explain why Smythdoesn't remember the blue bin that Dunphy's rifle was found resting on and why he didn't see the gun before it was allegedly pointedat him.

Dunphy's daughter, Meghan Dunphy, has testified that her father kept a stick to fend off people he suspected might be trying to steal marijuana he smoked to control the pain of injuries suffered in a workplace accident.

Application denied

In the end, Barry denied Kennedy's application. He said he wants to keep the inquiry on schedule and added the proposed witness's "evidence is not necessary."

Former premier Paul Davis took the stand last week, where he admitted he should not have called Smyth the day Dunphy was shot.

• Don Dunphy inquiry: Read more of CBC'scoverage

Joe Browne, who was Davis's chief of staff during his time as premier, as well as a former chief of the RNC, is testifying Monday morning.

Chief Medical Examiner Simon Avis will also testify on Monday.

Follow testimony at the inquiry in our live blog.