Family of man killed in police-involved shooting react online

The family of the man who died in a Regina police-involved shooting on Saturday is speaking out about his death.

While police haven’t yet named the man, friends and relatives have identified him on social media as Geoff Morris.

Jasmine Brass, a woman identifying herself as his fiancée, is one of them.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Brass wrote of how she was there when the situation escalated and how she didn’t feel it had to end the way it did.

“It wasn’t necessary for (police) to kill him, they could’ve just Tased him,” she wrote.

Before police were called in, Brass said she and Morris were in an argument and her sister was at their apartment, trying to calm him down.

Around 5:30 a.m. that day, police said they received a disturbance call from a neighbour in the same building on the 1900 block of Halifax Street. When officers arrived just a few minutes later, they say they found a man in one of the apartments holding a woman hostage with a knife. Later that morning, Morris was shot.

At an unrelated news conference Monday, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray briefly addressed the controversy swirling online.

“I’m aware of lots of social media dialogue,” he said. “At this point, I’m not really in a position where I can offer any further comment.”

Bray noted he “gave a pretty lengthy press conference the other day on the issue” and refused to answer any further questions.

“There’s lots that could be said, but I want the process to unfold naturally, and so today I’m not going to focus on that. I respectfully ask you to respect that,” he told reporters.

At Saturday’s news conference, Bray stressed that some of the most extensive training officers get is for use of force. He wouldn’t comment on whether other types of force were attempted in this situation, but mentioned the options were there.

“I think through the investigation we’ll be able to better understand what was present, and why the use of force that was used was used,” he said.

In her Facebook post, Brass highlighted Morris’ mental health issues.

“Even though Geoff put on this front of having everything under control, he cried for wanting more people other than me to be there for him,” she wrote. “I’m so broken right now, but deep, deep down I’m at peace for him to be free of his lifetime of abuse and depression.”

One of Morris’ daughters, Tanisha, describes her father on social media as “a very generous, loyal, true and funny human.”

“He didn’t deserve to die the way he did,” Tanisha wrote in a Facebook post. “I can’t even believe it still. It hasn’t sunken in yet … I love you dad.”

Another daughter, Kahaila, also spoke out online about her dad’s death.

“I’ll forever miss my father and what that cop did wasn’t right,” she wrote. “I want justice so no other kid has to feel the way I do.”

According to Bray, the officer who fired his gun is being relieved of operational duties as he’s debriefed and given critical incident stress management.

With oversight from the province’s Ministry of Justice, the Regina Police Service and the coroner are investigating Morris’ death.

Bray said there won’t be a third-party investigation.