THE CANADIAN PRESS

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BURNABY, B.C. - A fellow officer says the New Westminster, B.C., police officer who shot at a suspected stolen SUV, killing a teenaged passenger, looked scared as he drew his weapon.

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Tait, a passenger in the SUV, was shot following a police chase in the early hours of Aug. 23, 2005.

Const. Shawn Machesney, who was behind officer Todd Sweet at the time of the chase and shooting, appeared Friday at a coroner's inquest into Tait's death.

Her version of the events that morning largely backed up testimony given by Sweet earlier in the inquest.

Machesney said Sweet looked scared when he pulled his weapon that morning after the SUV rammed his cruiser two times.

Machesney, who witnessed Sweet kick a handcuffed suspect in the head a few months prior, says she and the officer are "not friends, just colleagues."

Sweet has testified that the driver, who is now in prison, left him no choice but to draw his weapon and fire on the vehicle, killing Tait in the passenger's seat.

He testified that he didn't know there were other teens inside the SUV until he pulled the wounded driver from the vehicle.

The inquest was put on hold last March after a lawyer for Tait's mother, Noelle, asked for more information about Sweet, who was given a conditional discharge following the Tait shooting.

Sweet was demoted and suspended without pay for five days after he kicked the handcuffed suspect in the head following a separate chase.

Lawyers at the inquest questioned the chase supervisor about whether Sweet may have been in violation of New Westminster police safety policy when he blocked the suspect vehicle.

The supervisor was asked whether the officer shouldn't have left an escape route for a car being chased.

He told the inquest he was not sure because it wasn't unclear whether the SUV was still moving when Sweet put his police cruiser in front.

Sweet testified that he did not know there were passengers in the SUV but the chase supervisor confirmed that a police radio transmission that night said there were at least four. Machesney also said there appeared to be passengers.

Coroner's inquests don't find fault, but instead make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.