One of the police officers who fatally shot a Prince Albert man says he fired his weapon only after the 26-year-old man lunged at him, shouting “do it!”
Const. Dwight Leblue testified at an inquest into the police shooting Wednesday that he and a fellow officer entered a home — after responding to a domestic dispute call — to find Ryan Natomagan-Nelson holding a knife.
Leblue said the suspect was in a small basement bathroom.
Natomagan-Nelson ignored demands to drop the knife and the officers shot at him as he lunged towards them.
Natomagan-Nelson was only a few feet in front of the officers, just an arm’s length away, when he was shot, Leblue said.
A Taser — which Prince Albert police did not carry at the time — or pepper spray wouldn't have stopped the threat without putting the officers in jeopardy, he added.
Natomagan-Nelson later died in hospital.
Leblue said he and his colleague announced their presence when they entered the home but received no reply.
Mary Jane Natomagan, the 27-year-old’s mother, said in previous testimony she had taken her granddaughter out of the house shortly before the officers arrived because she heard fighting downstairs.
Natomagan-Nelson had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend, Jasmine Schellenberg, according to his mother.
She said they both struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction.
Thirteen witnesses are set to testify throughout the inquiry, which is scheduled to last until Friday.
The inquiry is meant to examine the event but not to find fault or blame. The goal is to determine how to prevent similar incidents.
--- CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated Ryan Natomagan-Nelson was 27 years old when he died. He was 26. CTV regrets the error.
