Inquest looms eight years after fatal police shooting of London man

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An inquest will begin next month into the death of a London computer programmer who was shot dead during a police raid on his house after he fired a crossbow at an officer and charged at others with a hatchet.

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A coroner’s inquest into the death of Samuel Maloney, 35, will be Jan. 13. The inquest is expected to last 15 days and will hear from 11 witnesses, the province announced Friday.

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A coroner’s inquest is a formal hearing where the facts of the death are laid out and a jury makes recommendations to prevent similar deaths. The in-depth examinations typically take place when all other investigations are completed, including Special Investigation Unit (SIU) probes, criminal investigations and after appeal periods have expired.

Details about Maloney’s death have previously been revealed in a report from the SIU, an internal police report on the fatal shooting and a $17-million lawsuit filed by his window, Melissa Facciolo, against London police.

London police obtained a warrant to search Maloney’s Old South home on Dec. 23, 2016, weeks after a manifesto that included anti-Semitic material was sent to newsletter subscribers at the Hyland Cinema, where Facciolo managed the theatre’s website and Maloney was helping develop its software, the SIU said.

Tactical officers forced their way into the house at 56 Duchess Ave., where police entered a computer room and found Maloney and Facciolo. Maloney fired a crossbow at an officer, prompting him to fire three shots at Maloney, striking him once, the watchdog said.

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Facciolo ran to a rear bedroom, where two officers were inside with the couple’s children, while an officer ordered Maloney out of the room with his hands up. But he came out wielding a hatchet and charged toward the bedroom where the two officers and his family were holed up, the SIU said.

One of the officers fired five shots at Maloney, striking him three times in the chest. Maloney fell to the ground near the bedroom door before a third officer shot him once in the head, the SIU said.

Both the SIU and the internal police investigation cleared the involved officers of any wrongdoing in the deadly encounter, one of just four fatal police shootings in the city over the past 25 years.

A Free Press investigation revealed Maloney attended Western University for part of the 2015-16 school year and lived in residence, telling classmates he was 21 and making no mention of his partner or the newborn baby he had at the time. Maloney was an anti-establishment, free-speech promoter who spent much of his time on the internet, posting rants on immigration, racial mixing and so-called white genocide.

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He also had a long history of run-in with authorities. In 2007, both he and Facciolo were charged after police seized four loaded guns and 13,000 rounds of ammo during a search of their home. Facciolo later pleaded guilty to smuggling prohibited goods, while the charges against Maloney were withdrawn.

Just six months before his death, Maloney was charged with assaulting police, failing to leave a premises and other offences after an incident at the Hindu Cultural Centre.

dcarruthers@postmedia.com
@DaleatLFPress

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