BURNABY, B.C. — A coroner's jury is recommending that transit police in the Vancouver area work more closely with mental health providers following the death of a man who repeatedly stabbed himself and was shot by an officer at a grocery store more than two years ago.
Naverone Woods, 23, was shot by a transit police officer inside a Safeway store in Surrey, B.C., on the morning of Dec. 28, 2014. He was a member of the Gitxsan First Nation who had lived in Terrace and Hazelton in northern British Columbia.
The coroner's jury heard three days of testimony and made eight recommendations Wednesday to try and prevent similar fatalities in the future.
It recommended that transit police implement a program similar to the RCMP's Car 67 initiative in Surrey, which allows Mounties and a clinical nurse specializing in mental health to work together in responding to calls involving people suffering emotional problems.
It also recommended that the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service review the circumstances of the young man's death to identify ways of preventing fatalities in similar circumstances in the future.
As well, it wants TransLink and the Coast Mountain Bus Company operating in the Vancouver area to implement training scenarios for their personnel in dealing with people who have mental health issues or are intoxicated, along with giving transit workers direct access to 911, possibly through a panic button. The inquest heard that Woods appeared agitated and had ran into the closed doors of a bus earlier on the day he died.
![](https://media.darpanmagazine.com/library/uploads/news/content/naverone-woods#</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
the coroner's inquest began monday and heard from witnesses inside the safeway, the officers who were involved in the altercation and medical professionals who worked to revive woods.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
const. pamela mckinnon, the officer who shot woods, testified that she and sgt. lee ezra were driving to surrey central transit station when they heard over the police dispatch that a man had jumped over the counter of a nearby convenience store and demanded a knife. a second call said the man had gone inside a safeway store and was stabbing himself.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
the safeway's loss-prevention officer told the inquest that woods went directly to the back of the store and ripped open a package of knives before wandering the aisles stabbing himself between 12 and 20 times.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
mckinnon testified that when she and ezra entered the store, woods was bleeding profusely from his abdomen, mumbling incoherently and jogging on the spot with knives in both hands.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
she said she and ezra drew their firearms and repeatedly yelled at woods to drop the knives, but he didn't appear to hear or react. when woods suddenly lunged at ezra, mckinnon said she fired twice, hitting the young man the second time.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
woods was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m. the coroner's verdict listed the cause of death as "stab and gunshot wounds to the right arm and torso."</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
.jpg)
MORE National ARTICLES
Four Rescued, One Missing After Fishing Vessel Flips, Sinks, Near Comox, B.C.
Call came in at about 4 p.m. that a 17-metre vessel had capsized with five people on board.
Four Rescued, One Missing After Fishing Vessel Flips, Sinks, Near Comox, B.C.
Montreal Woman Manpreet Kooner Denied Entry To United States Told She Needed Visa
Manpreet Kooner says she was turned away at a crossing along the Quebec-Vermont border on Sunday and informed she needed a valid visa.
Montreal Woman Manpreet Kooner Denied Entry To United States Told She Needed Visa
Khizr Khan Cancels Toronto Talk After Travel Privileges 'Being Reviewed': Organizer
The organizer of a luncheon featuring a speech by the father of an American Muslim soldier killed in Iraq said Monday that the event was cancelled because the man's "travel privileges are being reviewed."
Khizr Khan Cancels Toronto Talk After Travel Privileges 'Being Reviewed': Organizer
2 Charged After RCMP Seize Steroids, Gun In Raids In Owen Sound, Ont., Area
The Mounties say search warrants were executed late last week at a home in Sauble Beach, Ont., and a business in Owen Sound, Ont.
2 Charged After RCMP Seize Steroids, Gun In Raids In Owen Sound, Ont., Area
New Trump Travel Ban Puts Renewed Pressure On Trudeau To Speak Out
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still skirting demands to speak out against the U.S. government's newly revised ban on immigration from specific countries.
New Trump Travel Ban Puts Renewed Pressure On Trudeau To Speak Out
Alleged Victim Says Bertrand Charest Kissed Her On The Lips When She Was 16
Another alleged victim of ex-national ski coach Bertrand Charest has taken the stand at his sex-assault trial.