Officer who shot and killed Beau Baker not equipped with a Taser, jury learns at coroner's inquest

The Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) officer who responded to Beau Baker's 911 call, and subsequently shot the 20-year-old, wasn't equipped with a Taser, the jury in the coroner's inquest learned on Tuesday.

"I did not have a Taser. No constables on patrol at that time had Tasers," Eric Boynton told Julian Roy, the council for the inquest, on day two of the inquest. He explained that he'd never been trained to use one at the time. 

Beau Baker, 20, was shot and killed by a Waterloo Regional Police Service officer in April 2015 outside Bakers' home on Brybeck Crescent in Kitchener, Ont. Baker had called 911 threatening to kill himself and harm others. Baker's family has said he had "documented mental health issues." Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, said there were no reasonable grounds to charge the officer in Baker's death

An inquest into Baker's death is mandatory under the Ontario Coroners Act. The inquest into Baker's death began on March 20, 2023 and is being held virtually out of Toronto. The jury in a coroner's inquest makes recommendations to prevent future similar deaths. Read all of CBC's coverage of the coroner's inquest here.

The officer is now a patrol staff sergeant with the police service but was a patrol contstable in 2015.

Baker was fatally shot on April 2, 2015 by Boynton, whose actions were found to be legally justified by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) six months later. According to that SIU report, Baker was armed with a knife when he was shot.

Boynton explained that the "use of force options" he had that night were a rifle, a duty belt with pepper spray, a police baton, and a pistol.

When Roy questioned if any of the officers on duty that night had a conducted energy weapon, also known as a Taser, Boynton said that two field supervisors did, as well as members of the special response team.

Roy asked Boynton if any of the special response team members were working the same shift.

He said, "I believe so because they're always working at that time." 

"In my memory I heard them be called for by what I remember to be the sergeant that you're going to hear from," said Boynton. "But that is a regional asset, so if there's a handful of them, where they are geographically could be very far away from where I'm located." 

No charges or allegations

David Eden, the presiding corner overseeing the hearing, has told the jury that the point of the inquest is to prevent future similar deaths, and that no charges or allegations are at play and that nobody is on trial. 

Eden went on to say that by the end of the inquest, the jury must decide on the circumstances of the death, and make recommendations in an effort to avoid similar deaths in the future.

Day three of the inquest continues on Wednesday.