Officer who shot Jermaine Carby says he was scared for his life

The officer who fatally shot Jermaine Carby following a traffic stop in Brampton two years ago said he wouldn’t have changed a thing about that night.

Const. Ryan Reid took the stand on day five of the inquest into Carby’s death, to recount his version of what happened the day of the shooting.

Carby, 33, was shot and killed after the car he was in was pulled over near Kennedy Road North and Queen Street East around 10 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2014.

Reid said when he arrived on scene Const. Jason Senechal, who had been conducting the traffic stop, told him “I wish you got here sooner.”

Senechal told the inquest on Thursday that he pulled over the vehicle due to drunk driving concerns. Carby was the passenger in the vehicle.

Senechal said he asked for Carby’s identification for carding purposes.

(To watch the video on mobile click here)

Carby was wanted by Vancouver police and had been flagged for suicide by police, Reid told the inquest.

According to police, Carby began threatening officers with a large knife.

Reid said he was scared for his life when Carby pulled the knife.

Reid said Carby then walked swiftly towards himself and Const. Senechal, shouting “Shoot me. Shoot me.”

That’s when he discharged his gun seven times. Three of the bullets struck Carby – one in the chest, one in the forearm and one in the back.

“My intent is not to kill Mr. Carby. That is the last thing I want to do. I wanted to disable the threat,” Reid said. “I have no doubt in my mind that night that Mr. Carby wanted to kill me or my partner.”

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A coroner’s toxicology report found that Carby had amphetamine, methamphetamine, marijuana and traces of an anti-depressant in his system at the time of his death.

The coroner’s report also indicated he suffered from mental health issues, including depression, and had been in hospital seeking treatment just days before he was killed.

Reid told the inquest that he believes Carby would still be here today if he’d dropped the knife.

Following the shooting, the director of the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Tony Loparco, ruled the killing was in self-defence and no charges were laid.

“I am satisfied that the officer discharged his firearm at Mr. Carby for the purpose of protecting and defending himself as well as other officers,” Loparco said at the time.

Along with the fatal shooting of Andrew Loku, Carby’s death has drawn the attention of Black Lives Matter and raised the public’s questioning of SIU protocol.

After the SIU announced its decision not to charge the officer responsible for Carby’s death, the victim’s family had a five-hour meeting with Loparco, but still had questions about the presence of the knife. The family then asked for the full SIU report to be released, similar to that of Loku’s case.

(To watch the video on mobile click here)

“I’m hoping for them to release the full report of Jermaine Carby. Exactly just like Andrew Loku,” Carby’s cousin, La Tanya Grant, said outside court Monday.

“The same way they got the resistance for [releasing the Loku report], I’m expecting we’re going to have the same [resistance] for this and seeing how we’re in the middle of the inquest, I doubt that they’re going release that to us right away,” Grant continued.

She said the family is hoping that this inquest changes police use of force.

“Police need to stop using excessive force and be accountable for their actions,” Grant said.