Improvements in emergency responses needed following police shooting death: jury

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – A jury says emergency responses in rural areas of B.C. need to be improved following the police shooting death of a 23-year-old Williams Lake man.

The jury’s recommendations, presented at the public inquest of the death of Justin Zinser, say Mounties need more first aid training, and rural areas need alternative coverage when there are no ambulance services available, to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.

Zinser died in Nimpo Lake, in the West Chicoltin area, from a gunshot wound to the back of his torso in September 2011.

The shooting happened after RCMP received a call about a domestic dispute involving an assault at a cabin.

Mounties were staking out the house and waiting for backup when an armed Zinser approached the Mounties on foot, prompting an officer to shoot him.

The death was investigated by the Delta Police Department, as the province’s Independent Investigations Office had not yet been created. (CHNL, The Canadian Press)