RCMP officer who fatally shot Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation man declines to testify at inquest

It took less than five minutes between two RCMP officers arriving in the remote island First Nations community of Opitsaht and when the shots that killed a Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation man were fired, according to one of the officers. 

Cpl. Daniel Macintosh, testifying on Wednesday at a coroner’s inquest into the death of Julian Jones, said officers were called to the island around 9 p.m. PT on Feb. 27, 2021, to investigate reports of a woman being assaulted and confined in a home.

His account is the first telling the seven-person inquest jury heard of Jones’s final moments. 

This coroner’s inquest is examining the facts and circumstances around Jones’s death, and the jury will create non-binding recommendations to prevent similar deaths. It is not tasked with finding blame or criminality.

Const. David Robichaud, who fired multiple shots that fatally wounded Jones, received a summons to testify but is not expected to appear.

Inquest counsel Rolf Warburton said, following the summons, Robichaud retired from the RCMP and moved out of the province. People outside of B.C. are not legally required to testify, and the former officer declined to participate.

The Independent Investigations Office did not recommend charges against the officers following an investigation.

Jones, previously convicted of numerous offences including assaulting a Tofino RCMP officer, was prohibited from contacting several RCMP officers including Robichaud, according to his Jones’s parole officer David Paruk.

The events at the Opitsaht residence happened in under a minute, Macintosh said. The home was dark when they knocked.

From inside, he heard a woman yell for help, men’s voices and heavy furniture being moved.

When the door opened, Robichaud arrested John Lucas Jr., Jones’s brother.

As he was handcuffed, Lucas exclaimed in pain over his wrist — which Macintosh said prompted Jones to emerge and tell the officers not to hurt his brother, and threaten to kill them.

With a flashlight, Macintosh said he could see Jones hit two metal objects the shape of paint sticks together in his hands, sending sparks. 

Macintosh said he had a brief verbal exchange with Jones — telling him to drop what the officer believed to be knives — but Jones began to approach the officers.

Robichaud fired a Taser at Jones, and the Tla-o-qui-aht man fell to the ground, Macintosh said. The officer said he moved to subdue Jones, but the man got up and began advancing towards him as Macintosh told him, “Julian, don’t do this.”

It was the first time in his career that he had feared for his life, Macintosh told the inquest. 

Macintosh drew his pistol, but Robichaud fired at Jones before Macintosh could finish pulling the trigger. Jones continued to move forward, and Robichaud fired two more shots.

Macintosh says Jones slumped to the floor, immobile. Jones’s mother, Carol Manson, crawled towards him, screaming, and draped her body over his.

Officer transferred out

With his pistol still drawn, Macintosh said he pulled one of the metal objects from Jones’s slack grip and realized for the first time what they were: two flat metal files with square tops, each about a foot in length.

“I looked at [Const.] Robichaud and said, ‘What do we do?'” he testified.

Robichaud told him to find towels and try to stop the bleeding, but Macintosh said he was unable to. He tried to find a pulse and inspected Jones’s injuries – and decided not to perform first aid, he said, believing it would worsen things as Jones appeared to have chest wounds. 

When asked if anything could have gone differently to change things, Macintosh told the inquest that the woman who reported sexual assault could have left the house when officers arrived, allowing them to retreat.

“That’s not how things happened, and that’s how things ended up I guess,” he said.

“If we had a second Taser … it could have been another option.”

Macintosh said Robichaud, who was already planning to transfer out of the Tofino RCMP, had an expedited transfer and left the community in the days after the shooting.

The inquest continues Thursday.