Hamilton officer recalls deploying Taser as shots were being fired at Quinn MacDougall

A Hamilton police officer cried as she described Monday what transpired the moments after 19-year-old Quinn MacDougall was fatally shot outside his townhouse complex in April, 2018. 

Const. Brittany Gingrich deployed her Taser at the same time shots were fired, she recalled during the inquest into MacDougall's death.

Police said MacDougall was armed with a knife. Gingrich said she felt it was important to disarm the teenager because, "if we didn't, there could be significant harm or death to one of the officers."

"It was the less-lethal option to hopefully get him to drop the knife so that we were able to take control of Mr. MacDougall," Gingrich said.

MacDougall was fatally shot near his home during an interaction with Hamilton police after making several distraught 911 calls, reporting a man with a gun who he said was out to get him. He died in hospital.

In April 2019, Ontario's police watchdog cleared Hamilton police of any wrongdoing in MacDougall's death. In a lengthy report, the director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said the two officers who shot MacDougall did so within the bounds of the law.

Actions unfolded 'extremely quickly'

Gingrich said Monday that actions unfolded "extremely quickly … less than a minute," and there was no time to "de-escalate and to give direction."

Gingrich said she heard three gunshots, but did not know who was discharging their firearm. She then heard a male voice behind her saying "shots fired."

When she saw MacDougall had been hurt, Gingrich said her first response was to "administer first aid." 

"I recall he dropped the knife and fell to the ground and … we have medical bags in the trunk of the car, so I ran to grab the medical bag," Gingrich said. 

She said she and another officer "tried to stop the bleeding, try and find out where he was bleeding and to put pressure on it."

'I wanted more gauze' 

Gingrich said she was "sprinting" between the spot where MacDougall was on the ground, and the parked police cruisers to get a second medical bag. 

"I wanted more gauze. I couldn't find gauze in my first bag," she said. 

Gingrich, who had only been with the Hamilton Police Service for one year at the time of MacDougall's death, said the incident had an impact on her.

Speaking through tears, Gingrich said "we're trained to, you know, obviously be as safe as possible, but to administer first aid."

Gingrich was one of two Hamilton police constables who spoke Monday, as the inquest began its second week. 

Knife was so close, 'I saw the blade'

Earlier in the day, Const. Ognjen Laka said MacDougall was advancing toward him in a threatening manner, and the knife in his hand got so close to him he could see it clearly.

According to Laka, the knife got to within "two feet at the most" of his body.

"I saw the blade. It was a buck knife and I remember it was on the right side. His right, my left."

Laka said it marked the first time in his life he had been in such an incident.

It was also his first time a Taser did not work when he had to use one in the line of duty.

'Everything played out so fast'

Laka said he deployed his Taser twice, as officers tried to calm down a distraught MacDougall, but on both occasions it failed to work.

"Like both times, like nobody was stationary, Mr. MacDougall was moving, which makes everything more complicated," he said.

So it's like, it's like everything played out so fast, I was still able to reload the cartridge and deploy it for the second time. Unfortunately, … both of us were moving and for that reason, the Taser wasn't effective." 

The inquest heard that the incident unfolded so quickly that at one moment Laka was speaking with his colleague Det. Const. Marcello Filice, and the next minute there was a knife on display.

"That was the last thing that I expected," Laka said.

The inquest, which commenced on Feb. 28, is examining the events leading up to and surrounding the teen's death. It is expected to run over 10 days total and will call approximately 21 witnesses.

Coroner Dr. David Eden is presiding over the inquest, which also includes Graham Leach as inquest counsel; Margaret Hoy, who's representing the MacDougall family; Gary Clewley, representing two Hamilton police officers; Marco Visentini, representing Hamilton Police Service; Brian Whitehead, counsel for the Ministry of the Solicitor General; and Ryan Ing, articling student assisting Whitehead.

The scheduling of the inquest was previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.