Jury rules Beau Baker death as suicide

After two weeks of deliberation, a jury has ruled the death of Beau Baker as a suicide.

On April 2nd, 2015, Baker was shot by a Waterloo Regional Police officer outside an apartment building on Brybeck Crescent in Kitchener.

The 20-year-old later died in hospital.

A previous probe into the incident by the Special Investigations Unit found that there was no reasonable grounds to charge the involved officer with criminal offences.

The investigation found that Baker had made a number of “alarming statements” to a 911 operator, claiming to have a knife and indicating an intention to hurt others and himself, including police, paramedics and passersby.

Baker had also warned the 911 operator that police would have to take knife from him by force.

The SIU report said the subject officer drew his firearm and pointed it at Baker, reassuring him that his intent was to provide assistance before ordering him to drop the knife and get down on the ground.

It’s said that Baker refused multiple orders to drop the weapon, threatening to stab the officer in the face before moving toward him while brandishing the knife.

The Special Investigations Unit said that the officer then backed up a step or two before firing his weapon seven times.

An inquest into the incident was announced in 2016.

Over the last two weeks, jury members heard from 16 witnesses surrounding the circumstances of Baker’s death.

Along with the jury’s decision, they also provided 24 recommendations involving changes towards Ontario’s mental health and child welfare frameworks.

“Beau Baker deserved much better from the systems with which he interacted – health, mental health, child welfare, and police.” Falconers LLP, who represented Baker’s family in the inquiry, said in a statement.

“Prompt and appropriate crisis interventions, including wraparound services, could have prevented Beau’s tragic death.”