Woman blockaded balcony door before deadly fall: Sources
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Regis Korchinski-Paquet plunged to her death after using a heavy appliance to blockade a balcony door from Toronto Police officers at her High Park highrise last Wednesday, sources told the Toronto Sun.
The 29-year-old woman died while trying unsuccessfully to vault to a neighbouring balcony shortly after she jammed the door with an appliance — possibly an air conditioning unit or a TV — according to sources. Korchinski-Paquet was alone on the balcony.
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A senior officer at the scene ordered less experienced officers to remain inside the apartment and leave the troubled woman outside.
After police spotted Korchinski-Paquet’s hand on the railing, an officer raced to the neighbouring apartment, sources told the Sun.
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By the time the officer reached the next-door balcony and looked for Korchinski-Paquet, she was gone, according to sources.
Police were called to intervene in a violent conflict between Korchinski-Paquet and her brother, which had been defused.
The senior officer at the scene spoke to Korchinski-Paquet’s mother, Claudette Korchinski-Beals, as they were gathered in the hallway outside the apartment, according to sources.
The officer has 3 1/2 years of experience working with Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) which partners Toronto hospitals, mental health nurses and specially-trained TPS officers to deal with situations involving people suffering from mental health issues.
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Korchinski-Beals asked the senior officer to take her daughter to CAMH, sources told the Sun. When the officer asked why the daughter should be brought to CAMH, the mom replied that her daughter was having seizures.
Korchinski-Paquet insisted, sources said, that she urgently needed to use the bathroom. She was permitted to re-enter the unit.
When she emerged from the bathroom, though, she bolted to the balcony and shoved a heavy object behind the door, said sources.
An independent witness says the 29-year-old was alone on the balcony before her deadly fall — a statement that contradicts allegations made publicly that police threw the woman off the balcony.
The allegation sparked outrage among family and community members, especially during the time of race riots in American cities protesting police killings of black people.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders called for calm last Friday. Protests on Saturday were peaceful.
Saunders branded social media chatter about the tragic death as “toxic misinformation” and “lies.”
The province’s Special Investigations Unit planned to interview the victim’s family this week.
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