Monday morning marks the start of the inquest into the shooting death of Steve Mesic – the Hamilton man who was shot by police last June after he checked himself out of a voluntary mental health care facility in Hamilton.

Mesic’s fiancée Sharon Dorr will be testifying, alongside representatives from St. Joe’s, doctors, the police service and Kevin Farrell and Michael McClellan — the two officers involved. The provincial Special Investigations Unit has cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing.

The inquest will also hear from close to 20 witnesses, including a bus driver who saw Mesic wandering into on-coming traffic and a 13-year-old who heard the shots that killed him that morning.

The former steelworker was shot last June, just steps from his own home, not long after checking himself out of a voluntary mental health care facility at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

The inquest will plumb the circumstances surrounding Mesic’s death and if deemed necessary, consider any potential recommendations to prevent similar deaths involving voluntary mental health patients leaving hospital grounds and police use of force.

Follow along with updates from reporter Jeff Green, live: