Waterloo region families call on Ontario coroner to speed up inquests

Family members of two men who died either in police custody or at the hands of the police are calling for coroner's inquests to be held in a more timely manner.

On Monday, the family of Nicholas Nembhard joined Nathaniel Schofield's family in front of the Chief Coroner's Office in Toronto.

They were asking that the coroner immediately call an inquest into Nembhard's death and to speed up the inquest process so that families don't have to wait years to know the truth about how their loved ones died. 

Nembhard, 31, died after he was shot by a police officer in Kitchener on Feb. 19, while Schofield, 36, died on July 10 after going into medical distress while in custody at an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) facility in Rockwood.

Nembhard's father — Cliff Eaton Nembhard — said it was unacceptable to have to wait three years or more for an inquest to be held.

"I don't know why it would take so long," he said, adding that the authorities should try to give families closure in a more timely manner.

According to Nembhard, "it's so hard" not having the answers he's seeking regarding his son's death.

"I would like to know the answer."

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said officers had been called to a Kitchener home for a disturbance shortly before 9 p.m. on Feb. 19. 

"Upon arriving at the scene, officers encountered a man holding an edged weapon," the SIU said in a news release. "There was an interaction and one officer discharged his firearm. The man was struck."

Nembhard was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

After taking a look at the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino said in a June 21 report that it was determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe the officer who shot Nembhard committed a criminal offence.

The SIU investigates cases of serious injury, death and allegations of sexual assault involving police, as well as cases where police discharge firearms at people.

Davin Charney, the lawyer for the Nembhard family, is questioning why an inquest has not been called now that the SIU has completed its investigation.

"The SIU's investigated and has completed their investigation and there won't be charges. They did that within four months. So, why in that situation wouldn't the coroner call an inquest at that point?" Charney asked. 

"Now it's been more than four months, but why wouldn't the coroner — because it's mandatory, in a shooting, there's going to be an inquest — why wouldn't the coroner say, 'OK, let's call the inquest and we're going to do it within a year.'"

Schofield's mother, Faye Dzikewich of Guelph, said families should not have to go through such long wait times not knowing what happened to their loved ones.

"I really don't know why [we have to wait this long]. I see no reason for it logically other than buying more time, perhaps," Dzikewich told CBC News.

"My concern is things can change. Things that happen like this get forgotten, they get brushed under the carpet. It won't with me. I will keep it going as long as I can till I get the answers that I'm looking for."

The SIU is also investigating Schofield's death.

Meanwhile, Charney said waiting years for a coroners' inquest "is too long" when families are grieving the loss of their loved ones.

"This delay is making their grieving and their suffering worse," he said.

Charney said he's now looking to the province to set a timeline for inquests, and to have the Office of the Coroner complete them within a year of someone's death.

A spokesperson for the office of Ontario's Chief Coroner says part of the problem is that jury trials were not possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We do have inquests that have to be heard and we're doing our very best to get through them as much as possible," the spokesperson said.

Representatives from the coroner's office came out to speak with both families on Monday. They agreed to look into the status of each case and follow up.