'This is a textbook case as to why I have been advocating for body-worn cameras and I'm now fast-tracking to the best of my ability to allow that process to speed up,' Chief Mark Saunders said on Friday.
Knia Singh, a lawyer representing Korchinski-Paquet’s family, said her mother, Claudette Beals-Clayton, called 911 because her daughter was in distress over a family conflict and was made out of “safety” and “concern.”Singh said the two, along with her brother, met police in the hallway leading to their 24th-floor apartment. He said she pleaded with officers to take Korchinski-Paquet to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for mental health support.
When Korchinski-Paquet told officers she needed to use the bathroom, Singh said officers followed her into the apartment unit and that when her brother tried to get her he was stopped. The family was not in the unit while Korchinski-Paquet and police were in the apartment unit.After a couple of minutes, Singh said Korchinski-Paquet called out a couple of minutes later, “Mom, help. Mom, help. Mom, help.” A short time later, he said the family found out Korchinski-Paquet was on the ground.
Singh told Global News he didn’t hear the 911 calls referenced by Saunders, but added there were no weapons present when officers arrived and there was no dispute at the time. The circumstances of the interaction in the unit remained unclear as of Friday. Ontario’s independent police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit , launched a probe into the incident.According to a statement from the SIU, a subject officer and five witness officers were identified and in the process of being interviewed. The agency said interviews with witnesses were conducted and there was a canvass for video footage.
“What I’m hoping for is that we have the ability of having body-worn cameras rolled out [in the third quarter] of this year,” he said.— With files from The Canadian Press
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