Jeremy Son, the police officer who shot Chantel Moore on June 4, 2020 testified Tuesday morning at Coroner Emily Caissy’s inquest.
Hearings continued on the second day, with testimony from police officers involved in the events that led to Chantel Moore’s death.
On the night of June 3, 2020, police officer Jeremy Son spoke with Chantel Moore’s ex-husband, Jonathan Brunet, who was concerned for Chantel Moore’s safety. The ex -wife was scared that Chantel Moore was with her, and threatened her.
The officer arrived at the scene alone aboard his patrol car. The flashing lights are not on. She climbed onto Chantel Moore’s balcony. At the window, he saw the woman lying on the couch, in front of the television turned on. Several times the police knocked on the window, but Chantel Moore did not respond.
He kept knocking, and ended up waking her up. He informed his colleagues, by radio, that he had woken up. He turned to the window. Police said he turned the flashlight on his uniform to show who he was.
Everything seemed normal, according to police, and Chantel Moore seemed calm. Then he took something, and his demeanor changed. Police released his service weapon. Chantel Moore had a knife in her hand above her head. He asked her to drop the knife, but it kept moving forward.
That was he fired four bullets at Chantel Moore.
From the girl’s awakening to her coming out, only a few seconds passed.
Immediately after the shooting, police said he could not understand why things went this way.
The second police officer described the tragic incident
Sergeant Marc Bouchard, a police officer since 1992, and Edmundston police officer since 1996, was the first to testify on the 2nd day of the coroner’s investigation. He explained that that day, he came to the front of the building where Chantel Moore’s apartment was located. His partner Jeremy Son is already on the balcony.
Sergeant Bouchard saw policeman Son trying to wake Chantel Moore. A few seconds later he heard him tell the woman to drop his knife, and after that he heard four quick gunshots. He then got out of his car, called an ambulance, and ran to the porch.
According to his testimony, policeman Son tried to stop the bleeding. Sergeant Bouchard tried to find the pulse, but in vain.
Marc Bouchard explained that the call was made for a wellness check. In a case like this, according to him, the police go to the scene to check the physical and mental health of the person concerned. But in Chantel Moore’s case, the concern, after her ex-husband’s call, was that there might be someone in the apartment threatening the maid.
Sergeant Bouchard also said Edmundston police only had one working Taser gun that night. According to him, only two policemen were trained to use a Taser gun, including policeman Son.
Sergeant Bouchard also explained that police were not wearing body cameras in June 2020. The camera system is currently under review within the Edmundston police force.
Source: Radio-Canada
