NSW Police officers were called to the state's mid-north coast on July 31, 2019, after Mr McKenzie was seen with a knife and making threatening comments to neighbours during a schizophrenic episode.
For nine hours, they lay siege to his Taree home, surrounding the 40-year-old on all sides before shooting him three times when he allegedly lunged at police.
After years of delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts by NSW Police to suppress tactical information, Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame will hand down her findings on Friday morning.
June Wilkins (second right), the mother of Todd McKenzie, and her husband Neil Wilkins (far right). (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
June and Neil Wilkins, Mr McKenzie's mother and stepfather, hope the coroner will deem the shooting an unlawful killing and make recommendations that prevent other families from going through the same ordeal.
While he remains "pessimistically optimistic", Mr Wilkins does not think the final report will not provide closure.
"If they identify something about the police's failings then there's some element of satisfaction," he told AAP.
"But that's certainly not closure in terms of Todd and his life."
Mr McKenzie was an avid drummer and cellist, who also loved to paint, and had been looking to book paid gigs with his friend before his life was cut short.
He had managed his mental health for decades, having been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at age six after he began hearing voices two years before.
Mr McKenzie's death is one in a string of recent cases involving deadly police interactions with civilians during mental health episodes.
Krista Kach died after being tasered by police in September, 2023. (HANDOUT/KACH FAMILY)
In September, 47-year-old Krista Kach died after being tasered and hit with a bean bag round following a 10-hour stand-off with police in Newcastle.
Four months before that, 95-year-old Clare Nowland died after police tasered her at a Cooma nursing home.
Clare Nowland died after being tasered by police in May, 2023. (HANDOUT/SUPPLIED)
"If there is no death penalty in NSW, how come the cops get to kill people?" Ms Wilkins said.
National Justice Project solicitor Karina Hawtrey, who is part of the team acting for Mr McKenzie's stepfather and mother, acknowledged police have difficult jobs where they are required to make split-second decisions.
But during mental health incidents where there is no immediate danger to others, police should look to family and medical professionals for assistance, she said.
Mr McKenzie's family had contacted the police during the stand-off, offering their decades of experience managing their son's mental health.
However, officers did not get in touch until Mr McKenzie had been shot.
The family also hopes Ms Grahame recommends improved mental health training for police, as many involved in Mr McKenzie's case had received a one-off session in 2015 with no further in-person training for four years.
The moment of the shooting has also remained shrouded in mystery because tactical police were not required to wear body cameras when they stormed the Taree home.
While Mr McKenzie's father Mark wants to make them mandatory for all officers, he knows it is already too little, too late for his son.
"We will never get to the bottom of that. There are questions that will never be answered," he said.
11°C