Windsor officer recalls 'sheer terror' of being stabbed before Mahoney shot, killed by police

When Matthew Mahoney stood over Windsor police constable John Paul Karam, slashing and stabbing his knife, the officer testified Wednesday to feeling "the utter fear that I was going to be killed."

Mahoney, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and off his medication at the time, was carrying a butcher block full of knives in downtown Windsor on the morning of March 21, 2018. He was shot and killed by police, prompting a coroner's inquest examining the circumstances of his death. That inquest started Monday.

Karam was the first officer to exit his vehicle that day in an alleyway between the Shoppers Drug Mart and McDonalds restaurant. As Mahoney kept walking away, trying to evade officers, Karam said he was trying to "build that quick rapport" by asking him what was going on.

"You have no probable cause to speak with me," Karam remembered Mahoney saying. Mahoney, Karam said, continued to walk toward the McDonalds, which was busy with a morning rush of customers.

"Obviously [he was] trying to evade me or at least ignore me," Karam testified.

Karam said in his mind, for the safety of the public, he didn't want Mahoney to get into that parking lot. He referred to that as his "line in the sand" and if Mahoney crossed it, Karam said, he knew he would need to take action.

"I immediately place my hands over my face in attempt to protect myself."​​​​​- John Paul Karam, Windsor police constable

Karam testified that as Mahoney's back was to him, he took out his Taser and said in a firm voice: "You need to stop and talk to me."

In one quick motion, he told the jury, Mahoney took one knife out of the wooden block and the rest scattered across the pavement.

"He sprinted toward me," Karam said.

He fired the Taser, he said, and the two leads designed to shock Mahoney latched onto his puffy clothing, proving ineffective.

Mahoney pressed forward, he said, slashing toward Karam's face and neck area.

"I immediately place my hands over my face in attempt to protect myself," said Karam. "I begin quickly back peddling, trying to create some distance between him and I."

Walking backward, Karam said, he tripped on a curb and fell onto his back. He said Mahoney stood now over top of him, and all he could do is use his hands to protect himself.

Shot fired after officer trips, lands on his back

Const. Andre Marentette fired one shot from his gun, the jury heard this week. Marentette had arrived moments after Karam.

Mahoney, Karam said, stood and pointed his attention away from Karam, which gave Karam an opportunity to pull his gun. Karam said he fired three or four shots before Mahoney fell to the ground.

Marentette testified earlier this week that he fired multiple shots at Mahoney's centre mass, which is where Windsor officers are trained to aim.

"As he fell, i distinctly remember him saying 'thank you,'" said Karam, referencing some of Mahoney's final words.

'Sheer terror' sinks in for officer who was stabbed

At that point, Karam recalled, the "sheer terror" of the situation sank in. He didn't even realize he'd been stabbed, he said, until he felt a water-like sensation running down his arm.

His thumb down to his wrist was "completely severed," Karam testified.

"I was bleeding profusely."

Sitting in the passenger seat of Marentette's cruiser was Rola Osman, an outreach worker at the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre. She was riding along with police that day doing wellness sweeps, searching for people who were homeless and connecting them with housing supports.

Outreach worker inside police cruiser during shooting

Osman testified Wednesday that she applied gauze from her bag to Karam's hand until paramedics arrived.

"You could tell he was in complete shock. None of us expected that to happen this morning," said Osman.

She said she stayed in the police cruiser while the violent interaction took place for her own safety.

When Osman was in Marentette's car when it first pulled up to the Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot, Mahoney had a smile or smirk on his face, she testified.

"Almost as if it was a 'come get me' kind of look," said Osman. "Almost as if it was a game."

"I honestly thought officer Karam died or that he was severely injured because of the way this man was stabbing at him."

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit cleared both officers of any wrong doing.

Even Mahoney's brother, Michael, said at the beginning of the inquest that he doesn't blame police or hold any anger toward them, as they were following their training.

On Monday, Michael said his brother complained of being ignored by the system tasked with helping his mental illness. Mahoney was diagnosed with schizophrenia, the jury heard, and had been violent in the past.

The jury has the ability to make recommendations to prevent future deaths in a similar manner based on the evidence they've heard.

Mahoney family pushing for changes in the healthcare system, police de-escalation

Michael said the Mahoney family would like to see proper mental health care funding, automatic followup care for people trying to live with mental illness like his brother, crisis teams and a "score card" to identify under-resourced mental health units "so patients don't suffer."

"We were told repeatedly … that they [health-care workers] are so overworked and so understaffed that it is so easy with extreme cases, especially complicated cases like Matthew's, to slip through the cracks," Michael testified.

The inquest is expected to continue until the end of next week.