Last witness to speak to Michael MacIsaac before police shooting recounts traumatic moments

A coroner's inquest into the death of MichaelMacIsaacheard emotional testimony Wednesday from one of the last people to have contact with the Ajax manbefore he was shot twice by Durham police.

Day three of the ongoing hearings was also punctuated by testimony that seemed to buttress the account of the shooting provided by the responding officers.

RonNinowas driving the black pick-up truck that followedMacIsaacfor a time on the morning of Dec. 2, 2013 after he came across the 47-year-oldrunning in the nude downDringStreet, clearly distressed. According toMacIsaac'sfamily, he was in the midst of an epilepsy-related psychological episode that caused him to act unpredictably.

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MacIsaac'svoice can be heard on a 911 callNinomade to police, and the two had a brief exchange before police arrived at the scene.MacIsaac'swife and sisters were visibly shaken when snippets of the call were played in court.

"He walked tothe pick-up truck, and Isaid, 'Where you going?'"Ninotold the jury of four men and one woman. "He said he was going to Mississauga. I said, 'Don't you want to go home and put some clothes on before you go to Mississauga?'" he continued.

Ninoadded that at first,MacIsaacwas not acting "violently." As theirbrief encounter played out,MacIsaacbecame increasingly agitated, eventually pounding on the pick-up truck with a closed fist, according toNino.

'I don't want to remember this'

Soon MacIsaac disappeared from his view.

"I had to look for him, I couldn't tell where he went. Then I saw him up on one of the porches. He picked up a piece of patio furniture. He was trying to break the door, I guess. I thought that's where he lived, he didn't have his keys and was trying to get in," Nino testified.

This was a critical moment. Police would later tell investigators that MacIsaac was wielding a metal table leg from the patio furniture as a weapon. The 94 cm, 0.5-kg length of metal was the focus of previous testimony, as there are conflicting accounts of just how threatening MacIsaacappeared while holding the leg, and whether police asked him to relinquish the improvised weapon before opening fire.

Nino said Wednesday that MacIsaac was still carrying the leg when he was shot, and that police "definitely told him to put [the table leg] down."

The testimony also addressed another controversial element of the case. At least one eyewitness told investigators that police physically moved MacIsaacafter he had been shot. Nino offered a possible explanation.

"I guess they realized he was in shock, they went in from behind him and carefully took [the table leg] from his hand and tossed it on the road," he said.

"They laid him down on his side. Next thing I knew, the ambulance is there."

Like others who have testified before him, Nino was deeply traumatized by the experience.

"It's a hard thing to forget. Idon't want to remember this. I don't think anyone should have to go through that. Ifeelfor that family. Idon't think it was easy for anyone involved. Iwould probably keep driving next time."

Eye witness supports official account

The inquest also heard fromRuella Rodrigues, who saidshe witnessed the shooting from the bay window of her parent's home as she was getting ready for her day at high school.

Her testimony was notably similar to the official account provided by Const. Brian Taylor, the officer who fired the shots some 10 to 12 seconds after stepping out of his police vehicle.

Rodridguescontends that MacIsaac was running towards the officer and "about to hithim" with the metal table leg when he was struck by the bullets in rapid succession. She also said that police repeatedly told MacIsaac to put it down.

The MacIsaac family's lawyer, Roy Welllington,questioned Rodrigues as to why she, after witnessing such an intense moment, waited until her father picked her up from school to tell anyone about what she saw.

She answered that she had a test that day and her mind was turned to her studies.

The inquest is expected to hear from Taylor on Thursday.