WHAT: Coroner’s Inquest into death of Jimmie Johanneson; BCCLA media availability with Latoya Farrell, BCCLA Policy Staff Counsel, on behalf of Jimmie’s sister, Haida Elder Ruby Marks.
WHEN: Monday, July 27 – Wednesday, August 5, 2026 | 9:30am – 4:30pm each hearing day | Media availability after 4:30pm each hearing day.
WHERE: Burnaby Coroners’ Court, 20th floor, 4720 Kingsway, Metrotower II, Metrotown, Burnaby. A livestream for this inquest will be available on the BC Coroner’s Service website every hearing day.
Unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations (Vancouver) | On Monday, July 27, a coroner’s inquest into the death of Haida Elder Jimmie Johannesson begins at 9:30am. A coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding (not fault-finding) legal proceeding focused on determining the facts relating to a death. Where appropriate, a jury can make non-binding recommendations in the hopes of preventing future harm.
BCCLA has been supporting Haida Elder Ruby Marks, Jimmie’s sister, who will be attending the inquest. BCCLA Policy Staff Counsel, Latoya Farrell, will be available to speak to media at the close of each hearing day and at the close of the inquest, on behalf of Ruby Marks.
Indigenous people disproportionately experience higher rates of police interactions and are overrepresented in police use of force statistics. Time and again, we’ve seen ill-equipped officers trying to deal with people in mental health crises, often resulting in the use of deadly force.
In 2022, BCCLA alongside a coalition of advocates joined Elder Ruby Marks in demanding that BC and Canada urgently reform policing by creating a mental health emergency response team trained in de-escalation staffed with mental health professionals separate from the police. For Elder Ruby and BCCLA, we hope the coroner’s inquest will shed light on unanswered questions about the circumstances of Elder Jimmie’s death.
While the Independent Investigations Office of BC determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed an offence, we believe the way RCMP responded to the wellness check may constitute a breach of RCMP policy or misconduct. We hope the jury will make recommendations that echo our calls for policing reform.
Background
On the morning of April 8, 2022, at approximately 10:00 am, several Surrey RCMP officers were dispatched to the home of Haida Elder Jimmie Johannesson, 61, to conduct a wellness check. Elder Jimmie had been threatening to harm himself. After arriving on scene, RCMP officers and a civilian entered the residence. They were in the front entrance, bunched together at the bottom of the stairs. Elder Jimmie was located in a room at the end of the hall. After a brief exchange, Elder Jimmie ran at the RCMP officers with a knife, forcing them and the civilian to flee the residence. An RCMP officer fired five shots, killing Elder Jimmie.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC is responsible for investigating all incidents of death or serious harm that were a result of the actions or inactions of a police officer, whether on or off duty. On August 1, 2024, the IIO issued its final investigative report, finding no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offence.
However, the IIO acknowledged that it was important for police to consider that Elder Jimmie was in his home, a place that is used for both physical and psychological security. The IIO further acknowledged that “challenging a person in their home has the potential to increase the stress of the situation,” and recommended that “all police agencies should develop training to ensure, as much as possible in the circumstances of each case, that any approach to an [affected person] in their home takes this factor into account.”