THE B.C. Coroners Service will hold a public inquest into the death of Matthew Wilcox, a mentally ill man who was shot by a North Vancouver RCMP officer in January 2010 after a Vancouver Police Department investigation recommended that the officer involved not face criminal charges.
Owen Court, regional coroner for Metro Vancouver, expected to announce the inquest Wednesday. Coroners inquests a quasi-judicial process held before a jury are typically ordered in all cases of police-involved deaths in B.C.
Wilcox was shot after a police chase in Deep Cove in January 2010. He died in hospital nearly 30 hours later.
Wilcoxs sister, Abbey Wilcox, told the North Shore News last month that since then, it has been torture for the family, waiting for answers.
On Tuesday, the Vancouver Police Department said their independent investigation is not recommending any criminal charges against the officer who shot Wilcox.
The investigation has determined that the RCMP constable was in the lawful execution of his duty, according to the press statement.
The final report has now been submitted to both the B.C. Coroners Service and the RCMP, who are expected to submit it to the RCMPs Commission for Public Complaints after a review.
No details from the report were immediately available.
Wilcox, an accomplished animator, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008.
According to witnesses, on the day of the shooting, he was driving erratically down Mount Seymour Parkway when he collided with a number of vehicles. He then turned onto Deep Cove Road where a police car rammed his vehicle, forcing him to stop.
A witness told the News at the time that outside the car, Wilcox ignored orders to stop and lie down on the ground. He was pulling something out of his pocket when he was shot. It later turned out to be a cell phone.
Abbey Wilcox said last month her brother's death has taken a huge toll on her family.
"It's a terrible loss," she said. "I don't think my mother will ever be the same. I'm sick every day. I cry every night, every day."
Wilcox added then that no matter what happens with the Vancouver police investigation, she wants an independent review of what happened when her brother died. "This police investigating police is just garbage," she said.
The officer involved in the shooting is still a member of the North Vancouver RCMP and is on full operational duties, said Sgt. Rob Vermeulen, spokesman for the RCMP.
No members of the Wilcox family could be reached by press time.
