Editor's note: The following story contains graphic descriptions heard during the inquest that may not be suitable for all readers.
The inquest into a 2018 barricading incident in a Greater Sudbury community that ended with a man’s suicide continued Wednesday and examined the role of the police response in similar situations.
The inquest is examining the death of Steven Thornton, 63, who was found dead in his Sunny Street home in Garson on Sept. 13, 2018 from a gunshot wound. Previous to Thornton's death, he had shot and wounded his wife after an argument in their home on Sept. 12 that led to a standoff with police.
A team from the Barrie Police Service had also been called in as backup for Sudbury police and to provide relief.
Testimony presented at the inquest on Wednesday included plans on how police would take the man into custody if he decided to surrender, along with plans to have the man apprehended under the Mental Health Act.
Police also defended the decision not to rush into the home at one point when Thornton appeared to be sleeping while sitting at a kitchen table with a cocked shotgun between his legs.
Wednesday marked Day 3 of the inquest into Thornton's death almost six years ago. The five-person inquest jury has so far been told that Thornton had been in an argument with his wife on Sept. 12, 2018.
According to an agreed statement of facts, an argument between the couple escalated during the supper hour, resulting in Thornton loading a 20-gauge shotgun and firing it at his wife as she ran from their home.
Thornton then went to the driveway and fired twice as his wife was running away. She was hit, wounded in the back, the legs and her wrist. She fell, but quickly got up and kept running. She took refuge in a neighbour's garage about four houses away.
Within minutes, police and other emergency services arrived. She was rushed to Health Sciences North for treatment.
Thornton himself returned to his house, drinking heavily, the inquest was told.
Police discovered the following day that Thornton had died from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Much of the testimony heard Wednesday focused on how Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) reacted to the armed person barricaded inside their home after that person had already used a firearm to shoot at his wife.
When police arrived, an inner perimeter was set up close to the house as armed officers surrounded the home, positioned behind cover about 30 to 40 metres away. Other officers established an outer perimeter, effectively shutting off the neighbourhood from all vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Police were able to connect with Thornton in the home with assistance from the man’s son-in-law, who had approached the outer police perimeter that evening while talking to Thornton on a cellphone. With that, police were able to connect to Thornton through a qualified crisis negotiator, Staff Sgt. Derick Rose.
It was during several of the conversations between Thornton and Rose that Thornton said he was ready to take his own life.
During Wednesday's proceedings, the inquest heard testimony from incident commander Insp. Daniel Despatie, a senior GSPS officer who has been certified as an incident commander for 10 years.
Despatie described he had worked a day shift on Sept. 12, 2018, when he was called out to attend the shooting incident on Sunny Street.
He said his job was to make crucial decisions at the scene of an incident, but only after consulting with the experts on hand. Despatie said the commander cannot be expected to be the expert in all areas and so he relies on subject matter experts to give him their best advice.
He said this would include advice from the tactical commander in charge of the emergency response officers, or the chief negotiator who heads up the team of negotiators listening in on what the subject in distress is saying.
"It's a very co-operative and consultative process," said Despatie.
"So I'm hearing what they have to say. I'm asking their opinion. I'm asking for their information," he added. "And with all that, I arm myself with enough information to make that final decision, and that's what makes, you know, for a successful resolution and good decision making.”
Conversations with police continued through the evening until Thornton, who drank heavily throughout the incident, said he wanted a break around 2 a.m. to take a nap.
The inquest was told he slept for various periods, all while sitting at the kitchen table.
At one point, around 3:28 a.m., police officers peeking into a window saw Thornton wake up, place the muzzle of the shotgun under his chin, and mutter something quietly. But then he moved the gun away and appeared to fall asleep again, the inquest was told.
Police said it was a deliberate decision to let Thornton continue sleeping.
Despatie recalled having discussions about letting him sleep, because Thornton had asked police for a break and police agreed.
Despatie said the question was considered whether to have tactical officers rush into the kitchen and grab the shotgun to end the incident.
"So the question I asked myself is, is there a less riskier way to get Mr. Thornton out of the house? And then I keep going back to yes, there is a less riskier way, and that is to negotiate them out, which is our initial plan," Despatie told the inquest.
Added to that, said Despatie, is the hammer on the shotgun was cocked and ready to be fired. Would it be worth the risk for tactical officers to run the 10 feet from the door to the kitchen table where Thornton was sitting? He said an officer could get shot and Thornton could get shot.
"Do I want to create a situation where officers now have to use deadly force against Mr. Thornton?" Despatie asked rhetorically.
Despatie said the idea of deliberately startling somebody with a loaded shotgun was just not the right course of action.
"And to this day, I don't believe there was a safe way," Despatie said.
The inquest enters Day 4 today and is expected to hear testimony that will focus on why Barrie police was called in to assist GSPS as the barricade incident carried over from Sept. 12 to Sept. 13.
The role of a coroner’s inquest is to determine how a deceased person came to their death, when the death occurred, where it occurred, how it occurred (medical cause of death) and by what means (natural causes, accident, homicide, suicide or undetermined).
An inquest jury cannot assign blame, nor can it make any legal conclusions. A jury may make recommendations to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
You can read about the first day of testimony here, and the second day here.
