A Windsor police officer has testified at a coroner's inquest looking into a police-involved shooting of a city man that "in order to save a life, I had to take a life that day."
Constable Andre Marentette testified for most of Day 2 of the the inquest looking into the shooting death of Matthew Mahoney, a diagnosed schizophrenic.
Constable Marentette was on patrol with a social worker that day, going to various locations and encampments to make contact with the homeless population, when he heard on the police radio about a man with a butcher block full of knives.
While not dispatched to the scene, Marentette drove to the area near downtown Windsor, believing the description of the suspect matched someone they may have come into contact earlier that morning. He thought a familiar face may help the situation.
The officer was the first to locate the suspect near the intersection of Ouellette Avenue and Wyandotte Street, but soon realized it was not the same person they talked with earlier in the morning. He got out of his cruiser and attempted to talk with the man but told the inquest "the man gave a smirk or a smile, waved me off and walked away," cutting through a parking lot at a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart.
Constable Marentette got back in his cruiser and drove down Wyandotte to the Dufferin Place alley, right behind the McDonalds at Goyeau Street and Wyandotte, where other officers were arriving on scene.
The inquest heard Constable John Paul Karam was attempting to converse with Mahoney when he dropped the butchers block and pulled out a steak knife. Marentette told the inquest that Mahoney was advancing on Constable Karam with his hand raised above his head, slashing and stabbing in a figure-8 motion.
As he got out of his cruiser, he could hear Constable Karam yelling "I need another taser, I need another taser," as he kept backing away from Mahoney, who continued to advance.
Marentette told the inquest that Constable Karam fell back after hitting a curb and was on the ground behind a telephone pole, with Mahoney standing over him still swinging and slashing with his knife.
He testified he couldn't see if Constable Karam was was dead or bleeding out, as his torso was obscured by the telephone pole and had to make a split second decision.
"At that point, I fired a shot and Mahoney stood up after the first round and turned toward me. He began to walk toward me with the knife still in his hand," said Marentette. "I told him to drop the knife but he did not and I fired another round. He came toward me and I fired two more rounds."
Marentette told the jury that after he fired his final shot, Mahoney said "thank you" before he fell to the ground.
During questioning, Constable Marentette was asked what he thought Mahoney meant when he said thank you, to which he replied "to me his intent that day was 'suicide by police', in my opinion."
The inquest into the death of Matthew Mahoney will hear from 18 witnesses and is expected to last ten days.
Once all parties with standing have the opportunity to present their information and ask questions of the witnesses, the jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths from occurring in similar circumstances.
On March 21, 2018, the 33-year-old Mahoney was shot and killed following a confrontation with police in the Dufferin Place alley, behind the McDonalds at Goyeau Street and Wyandotte Street in Windsor.
Officers had been called for a report of a man carrying a butcher block with knives. Police asked him to stop but he attacked the officers instead. Police tasered the man, but it didn't stop him and then shots were fired.
One officer suffered non-life threatening injuries during the incident.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit cleared police of any wrongdoing in the case, concluding the shots that were fired by the officers, which struck and killed Mahoney, 'were justified'.