WINNIPEG — The father of a man shot and killed by Winnipeg police says he tried to run toward his son lying on the ground but was tackled by an officer.
Brian McDougall told an inquest examining his son Craig McDougall's death eight years ago that the officer put his knee on the back of his neck.
He says he was taken to police headquarters and only learned much later that his son was dead.
But much of what happened before and after the incident was beyond recall for the elderly man, who delivered his testimony from a wheelchair.
Craig McDougall, who was 26, was shot at his home after police responded to a report of an altercation.
Police said McDougall had a knife in his hand and had refused repeated orders to drop it.
McDougall's relatives have said he was carrying only a cellphone and was talking with his girlfriend, who heard four shots fired.
This inquest, unlike some others in Manitoba, has been given a broader mandate to look at whether systemic racism played a role in the indigenous man's death.
The victim's father is the first to testify in the inquest, which is scheduled to sit until next month.
