Inquest begins into death of Hamilton woman shot by police in 2018

An inquest into the death of a woman shot by Hamilton police seven years ago is set to start this morning.

Thirty-year-old Robyn Garlow died in October 2018 after a shooting that became the subject of a police watchdog case.

Two Hamilton officers responded to reports of a woman with a knife in an apartment at King Street East near Wellington Street in the central part of the city and arrived to find Garlow standing on a bed holding a knife.

Police ordered her to drop the weapon but Garlow refused and then brought it up to her neck and started cutting her throat. One of the officers attempted to taser Garlow twice to stop her from hurting herself.

READ MORE: Date set for inquest into 2018 Hamilton police shooting death of Robyn Garlow

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said Garlow then held “the knife over her head and was screaming incomprehensively as she lunged aggressively at the officers.”

One of the officers pointed his handgun at her and repeatedly told her to drop the knife, according to the SIU. Garlow then charged towards police and the officer fired four gunshots, two of which struck her.

Paramedics rushed her to hospital, where she later died.

The SIU took over the case and concluded in 2019 there were no grounds to charge the officer who shot Garlow.

The inquest — which is mandatory as Garlow died in an interaction with police — is expected to hear from five witnesses and last four days.