July 2004 - Inquest to be held in the death of Jerry Knight

On July 19, 2004, two days after the death of Jerry Knight, the Chief Coroner for Ontario announced that an inquest would be held to review the events surrounding the death. At the time of the announcement, the autopsy had been completed and the results had been forwarded to the SIU. The announcement noted that the date, time and location for the inquest would be announced following the completion of the investigation by the Special Investigations Unit.

In September 2004, although they said that the actions of the police appeared to have played a role in Mr. Knight's death, the SIU cleared the officer of any wrongdoing and Jerry Knight's death was blamed on cocaine and not the taser.

Curious as to why THREE YEARS have passed since the Chief Coroner announced his intent to hold an inquest, I sent a written inquiry to his office. The reply I received came from the Regional Supervising Coroner, Central Region (Brampton) who wrote the following:

"To date, the announced inquest has not taken place due to constraints relating to manpower and resources within our office. It is our intention to proceed with this inquest as soon as we are able."