Daniel Clause had cocaine, methadone in his system when police shot him, inquest hears
A toxicology report entered into evidence Thursday at the inquest into the fatal police shooting of Daniel Clause revealed that the 33-year-old father of four had methadone and cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
Traces of multiple anti-anxiety medications were also found in Clause's system, Michael Blaine, the coroner's counsel, told the jury. Clause's younger sister, Mary Clause, told the jury her brother struggled with bipolar disorder.
She, along with other family members, are looking for answers that could help explain what state of mind her brother was in when he was killed.
On Wednesday, his former girlfriend told the court Clause was in a methadone program to treat an addiction to Oxycontin. Clause was first given Oxycontin by a friend after suffering an injury at work.
Clause matched suspect's description
On Thursday, the inquest also heard several minutes of emergency dispatch recordings. Toronto police were called for an armed robbery at Warden Station shortly after midnight on December 31, 2014.
About 10 minutes later, at a Toronto Community Housing complex about 500 metres away, police fatally shot Clause, who they say matched the description of the robbery suspect.
The TTC collector who was robbed told the inquest the suspect had a gun. He said he saw the barrel of the gun and that the suspect tapped it on the booth.The inquest watched several angles of video of the robbery.
A staff sergeant who responded to the incident testified that he arrived at the scene of the shooting shortly afterwards.
Clause's gun was an air pistol, inquest hears
Sgt. David Liska said, at first, he thought the gun on the ground near Clause's body was real, but after looking at it more closely he realized it was an air pistol.
Asked about determining whether or not a gun is real, Liska told the inquest that if Clause's air pistol was pointed at him he would assume it was real, that his life was in danger and that the public could be in danger.
Liska described the lighting at the shooting scene as "poor" and "artificial."
The officer who fired the fatal shots was eventually cleared by Ontario's civilian police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit. He is expected to testify at the inquest Friday.
The victim's brother Shawn Clause, who lives close to Warden Station, still believes it was excessive force.
"At the very least, if they're going to shoot him, they could have wounded him, " he told CBC News outside court Thursday. "Not multiple shots. Not to kill."
