BROCKVILLE, Ont. - A coroner's inquest will begin Sept. 26 to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of a man shot by police following a high-speed chase near Brockville, Ont.
Phillip Jeffrey Charbonneau, 35, was killed by provincial police in July 2009 near the eastern Ontario city after he allegedly struck one of their police officers with his pickup truck.
Police had tried to pull the Hammond man over at a RIDE check but he fled and a high-speed chase ensued, ending when six police vehicles hemmed in his vehicle and forced it to stop.
As Charbonneau tried to flee by driving his pickup through a gap in the police blockade, two officers shot at him eight times, and one bullet hit him in the head, killing him instantly.
The Special Investigations Unit concluded there were no reasonable grounds to charge the two Leeds County detachment officers in Charbonneau's death.
The 10-day inquest in Brockville will hear from 18 witnesses as it examines the circumstances surrounding Charbonneau's death.
An inquest is mandatory when there's police involvement in a death.
