A coroner’s inquest into the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Zachary Andrew With in February 2019 began in a Nelson courtroom this week, with testimonies from his sister, Rachel With, his family physician Dr. Michael Innis, and Constable Scott Powell.
Zachary With died on Feb. 13, 2019, near Bonnington after being shot by Cst. Powell.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) cleared him of wrongdoing in October 2019.
This week, a jury is hearing from witnesses, forensic experts, and first responders in a hearing presided over by coroner Margaret Janzen.
The inquest began with With’s sister, Rachel, sharing a brief statement on the impact of her brother’s death and details of their upbringing.
Also testifying was Dr. Michael Innis of Salmo, who had been treating With since 2015.
According to Dr. Innis, With suffered from diagnosed PTSD, acute stress reaction, and substance abuse, with indications of adverse childhood events.
Lindsay With told the jury her brother had attempted multiple times to get sober, stating that in 2016, he had been referred by a drug counsellor to a treatment facility in Kamloops but was kicked out shortly after he arrived for using cannabis.
Then, it was Cst. Powell’s turn to take the stand.
At the time of the incident, Powell was on a temporary subcontract with the West Kootenay Traffic Services and was working an overtime shift for the Nelson Detachment.
Powell told the jury that he responded to reports of shots fired in Bonnington at 2 a.m., near the end of his shift.
He said the information he received was minimal but included reports of shots fired and a potential vehicle involved.
He explained that his risk and threat assessment process allowed him to determine that the report was legitimate, stating that it was not hunting season, and there were no community events in the area that could have contributed a similar noise, eliminating many common possibilities.
Powell was working by himself at the time, but he asked his dispatcher to call another officer, Constable Andrew Bachman, at around 2 a.m.
Powell said he, Bachman, and another officer, Constable Kerry Szkica, located a pickup truck at a rest stop on Lower Bonnington Road, which they believed was part of the incident.
Powell and Bachman approached the vehicle, with Powell directing Szkica to run the plates.
He told the jury that he didn’t wait for the vehicle information to come back before he approached it due to his experience with poor cell-phone service in the area, which he assumed would impact how quickly it would be received, adding that he and Bachman motioned to each other before approaching but didn’t discuss a plan or procedure.
As Powell approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, he said he knocked on the window, shone his flashlight, and noted a young to middle-aged male, slumped over in the driver’s seat, with an airbag inside deployed.
The driver unrolled the window slightly. When Powell asked him what he was doing, he responded that he was sleeping.
Powell said he believed the man was impaired as he was slurring his words, couldn’t hold up his head, and smelled of alcohol.
Initially, Powell didn’t ask the driver to step out of the vehicle, nor did he look to see if the keys were inside.
At that point, Powell said Bachman had approached the passenger side of the vehicle and noted a second passenger, a female. Shortly after, the passenger exited the vehicle, and Bachman yelled that there was a gun inside.
Things escalated quickly from there, stated Powell, when he also noted seeing a portion of a firearm behind the passenger seat.
At that point, Powell withdrew his own pistol and asked the driver to show him his hands. He spoke on how he had to respond quickly, as his risk assessment believed the threat was significant.
Powell said at some point, the driver began to reach down, despite him and Bachman giving orders to show his hands.
Eventually, the driver complied but then proceeded to turn the vehicle on and put it in reverse. At this point, Powell said he had reached through the window of the truck to try and punch him in the face.
Powell said he was then dragged backwards by the truck, which ran over his left leg and arm.
At that point, Powell said his risk assessment “was higher than it’s ever been in my whole life” as he lay face down in the snow, about 2 metres behind the truck.
The driver proceeded to rev the engine of the truck, which Powell perceived as a further threat, so he located his pistol and shot towards the driver’s side of the truck several times.
Powell said the whole incident, which occurred in the dark and during a significant snowstorm, happened in what felt like a matter of seconds, stating that there were many unknowns as he and Bachman approached the vehicle.
The inquest resumes today at 9 a.m. with Bachman and Szkica taking the stand, as well as testimonies from forensic experts and other first responders before the it concludes on Thursday.
Coroner’s inquests are mandatory in deaths that occur when a person is detained by police or in their custody. A jury is asked to determine how someone died and recommend ways to prevent similar deaths. However, they don’t make any findings of legal responsibility.
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