A Vancouver police officer shot a violent attempted robbery suspect four times as he feared for the lives of himself, his already-stabbed partner and others, a coroner’s inquest heard Nov. 2.
Daniel Peter Rintoul, 38, died Nov. 10 2016 after police shot him outside the Grandview and Boundary Canadian Tire store. The shooting came after what appeared to be a botched robbery in the store’s firearms department.
Const. Gary Li and then Const. Joshua Wong shot Rintoul after he allegedly stabbed a store clerk and Const. Justin Fraser, both of whom wound up in hospital with knife wounds.
Presiding coroner Susan Barth and a jury are hearing evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts surrounding this death. The five-person jury can make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances. A jury must not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law.
Li and partner Fraser were the first officers to respond to the store around 3 p.m. that day after receiving multiple 911 calls. Li carried a Taser while Fraser had a rifle.
Police said a man entered the store dressed in camouflage gear, stabbed a store clerk and began removing firearms from a gun cabinet.
A number of staff had already been involved before police intervened.
The inquest has already heard from store staff member Jose de Jesus, who said the man wanted guns and smashed gun cabinet glass. De Jesus was stabbed in the process.
Store security officer Ifran Elahi said he was nearby and observed events with de Jesus. He said he immediately alerted store staff to evacuate and began telling people to leave the area.
He had noticed the man before events began to unfold. “He was sweating a lot, talking to himself,” he said, adding he believed the situation to be one involving mental health issues.
Elahi said he saw the man slash an employee with a machete. When the man began to move, Elahi followed.
“He’s a potential mass shooter,” Elahi said.
He saw police Taser the man as he charged them and then went down.
“I jumped in and started kicking the guy around his face and stomach,” he said.
He said he stood back when he saw the officer stabbed. Then, he saw Rintoul get shot.
“He was in extreme pain, yelling, “Finish me off, finish me off, finish me off.”
It was Li who deployed the Taser after his commands were ignored. They then moved in to take control of the man. Then, “a violent struggle ensued,” Li said.
"I heard Const. Fraser yell 'knife, knife, knife.'"
Li said the man was trying to get up and was still holding the knife.
“I shot the suspect multiple times,” he said, adding he later learned it was four shots.
“I believed he was going to attack me or kill me or others or attack Const. Fraser again,” Li said. “He provided us no opportunity to de-escalate whatsoever.”
Even after the shots, Li said, “he was still holding the knife. He was still conscious.”
Covering the man, Li moved to assist Fraser as other officers arrived; among them was acting Sgt. Derek Cain.
That officer said he took the call as serious as soon as he heard the man had attempted to take firearms. He said the tone of Li’s and Fraser’s voices in radio messages added to the urgency.
He arrived to see Fraser on the ground near Li.
“Mr. Rintoul was yelling and screaming words to the effect [of] 'Just shoot me.'"
Cain said he pepper-sprayed the man and then noticed a rifle, later identified as Fraser’s on the ground. Cain feared the man might get a hold of the loaded weapon.
“He started to roll and stand up,” Cain said. “That’s when my finger went on the trigger for the first time since training.”
The man unleashed more pepper spray. Due to his vision being clouded, Cain said he could no longer be sure of his shot.
“I could hear gunshots from right beside me,” he said.
Some of those shots came from Const. Joshua Wong. He arrived to see the man on the ground and joined a line of officers, pistols drawn, now protecting Fraser from the man still holding the knife and bear spray.
Given that the man had stabbed an employee and an officer, Wong said, the threat level was at its highest.
He also heard the man screaming for his own death just before he attempted to rise once more.
“The suspect attempted to stand up and I shot him,” Wong said. “I thought he was going to kill me or someone else.”
The case continues Nov. 3 with testimony from more police officers.
