B.C. officer who fired fatal shot to testify

The RCMP officer who fired the shot that killed Langley, B.C., father Alvin Wright will take the stand Wednesday at the inquest into his death.

Wright died in August 2010 after his common-law wife, Heather Hammond, called 911 after Wright kicked her out of their house following a drunken argument.

Hammond stayed outside when the officers went into the house to check on Wright, 22. One of them was Sgt. Don Davidson, who fired the fatal shot.

Witnesses say the police did not announce themselves as they entered the home and the officers said they could not recall if they did but noted that they were all in full uniform.

Hammond's lawyer, Don Sorochan, has said that police didn't seem to have a plan when they then burst into Wright's bedroom.

"You're going to hear that [Wright’s] blood alcohol level was .19 and he goes to sleep in his bedroom, hears a commotion and goes into a closet. Does he know he's dealing with police? I don't know,” Sorochan said.

Officers have told investigators that Wright was crouched in a closet and ignored repeated demands to drop the hunting knife he was holding.

He was shot when he stood up and moved forward out of the closet.

"It's a tragedy that a life ends in these circumstances," Sorochan said.

Sorochan is also representing Hannon in a lawsuit she has filed against the RCMP.

Hammond testified Monday that when she called 911 for help, she never expected that Wright would be shot.

"I'll never call the cops again, for anything," she told the inquest.

Investigations by the Vancouver Police Department and the B.C. Police Complaint Commissioner cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.