Regina police chief willing to adopt policies to address 'suicide by cop'

Geoffrey Morris was killed by a Regina police officer in his own apartment in 2019 during a hostage situation. 

In the coroner's inquest into Morris's death, which ended Wednesday, a five-person jury deemed Morris's death a suicide (by police shooting) because he had provoked officers into killing him by holding his fiancée at knife point.

Cpl. Devon Lee Sterling, who delivered the fatal bullet, called it a "one in 10 million call" during his testimony on Day 2 of the inquest.

"It was out of a movie, and it was absolutely horrific," Sterling said. "Nobody wanted to be there, but it's not something you can walk away from."

The incident traumatized Morris's family and friends, but also members of the Regina Police Service, which hasn't had an officer-involved killing in 20 years. 

On Thursday, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray got teary-eyed talking about the incident, saying it wasn't a scenario any of his officers wanted to be a part of. 

Bray said he will commit to looking at how to prevent "suicide by cop" scenarios from happening again within the city, whether it takes policy, procedures or tactics.

"I am aware that there is work [in other police services] that is being done to try and address suicide by cop," Bray said. "The jury gave us recommendations that might help build a framework or a template that gives us some strategies we can try and employ if this situation arises again."

The inquest jury recommended the force adopt body cameras and have Elders available during crisis situations involving Indigenous people. 

Bray said the force accepts all the recommendations, but that the body camera one will be hardest to implement as it requires the support of the Regina Board of Police Commissioners. 

A few months ago the Regina Police Service presented the board with a report on the pros and cons of body-worn cameras. 

"The board was wanting to do a little more exploration. I assume that will be a conversation that we will have going forward, but knowing that body cameras were mentioned in two of these recommendations, I think, you know, that just adds to the conversation that we'll have."

Other jury recommendations, like having a psychologist travel with negotiation teams, and having annual training for officers on mental health and crisis situations, are already implemented by the service, he said. 

"Part of an inquest is better understanding the truth of what happened and finding positive ways that we can commit to hopefully preventing something like that or minimizing the chances of something like that happening again," Bray said. "I hope that also helps the family with a bit of closure." 

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.

For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.

You can also contact the Saskatchewan suicide prevention line toll-free, 24/7 by calling 1-833-456-4566, texting 45645, or chatting online.

You can contact the Regina mobile crisis services suicide line at 306-525-5333 or Saskatoon mobile crisis line at 306-933-6200.

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

Kids Help Phone can also be reached at 1-800-668-6868, or you can access live chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca.