• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Black Man's Killed By Officer Ruled As Homicide, Officer Faces No Penalty...

CazTGG

Member
...in Canada.

An inquest into the death of a black man at the hands of a Toronto police officer came to an end on Friday, with the jury deeming it a homicide, and delivering a broad range of recommendations to the city's police force, including training officers on the inequities faced by racialized communities.

Unlike in a criminal proceeding, the finding of homicide in an inquest carries no legal weight — it simply means Andrew Loku died as a result of someone else's conduct, family lawyer Jonathan Shime explained.

Short version: Two years after the death of Andrew Loku, his death was ruled a homocide and the inquest provided recommendations to ensure this never happens again like having front-line officers carry tasers. Constable Andrew "I feared for my life" Doyle, who shot and killed Andrew Loku, has yet to receive any penalty for his actions (the committee couldn't charge him; the SIU could have but they ruled in favor of Doyle, hence the lack of charges).

Source: https://news.vice.com/story/inquest-rules-police-shooting-of-andrew-loku-a-homicide

EDIT: Forgot to remove the 's from the title. If a mod could change that, it would be appreciated.
 

FlowersisBritish

fleurs n'est pas britannique
Oh wow what a surprise, Canada is also bad with this sort of thing. Me and all the missing indigenous women are absolutely shocked. Shocked I say!
 

cromofo

Member
Doyle and his partner Const. Haim Queroub arrived on scene in response to a call about a man threatening to kill someone and carrying a hammer. Doyle testified that he shot Loku as he was walking towards him, holding the hammer up, and refusing to drop it despite repeated commands from both him and his partner.

At the time of his death, he also had three times the legal driving limit of alcohol in his body.


Sounds like a recipe to get shot.
 

Sunster

Member
What does a white cop need to do in order to be punished for killing a black person? Kill an entire family of black people on live TV? Kill a black police commissioner? Like, white people just flat out refuse to punish white cops for killing black people. They just WILL NOT DO IT. 2nd time I've said this and I bet I say it again before August.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
Why call it a homicide then?

Homicide simply means a human killing a human. It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not it was just/accidental/negligent/etc..
 

Dr.Guru of Peru

played the long game
Eh, this is extremely misleading. The use of the word homicide doesn't mean what it means in a criminal court setting. The fact that this was a homicide was never even in dispute.
 

wamberz1

Member
Doyle and his partner Const. Haim Queroub arrived on scene in response to a call about a man threatening to kill someone and carrying a hammer. Doyle testified that he shot Loku as he was walking towards him, holding the hammer up, and refusing to drop it despite repeated commands from both him and his partner. The Special Investigations Unit, a police oversight body, ruled that the officer’s actions were justified, and thus never charged him.
I mean, unless I'm missing something it sounds like they were justified to use lethal force? It's a shame there was no body cam though.
 
Homicide simply means a human killing a human. It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not it was just/accidental/negligent/etc..
Yeah, this used to confuse me, especially how manslaughter and homicide aren't interchangable terms. Manslaughter sounds way worse, but it's the less severe charge

Or wait, is that backwards?
 
This wasn't a trial people, it was an inquest. OP probably didn't put that in the title for clickbait reasons.

This is a non-story. It was an inquest to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it in the future.
 
Yeah, this used to confuse me, especially how manslaughter and homicide aren't interchangable terms. Manslaughter sounds way worse, but it's the less severe charge

Or wait, is that backwards?

Neither. Manslaughter and Murder are unjustifiable homicides. Manslaughter is used when intent cannot be proved or purely accidental. Murder implies intent and potentially can be premeditated. Self-defense is often considered justifiable homicide in the US.
 

Miles X

Member
Oh wow what a surprise, Canada is also bad with this sort of thing. Me and all the missing indigenous women are absolutely shocked. Shocked I say!

I don't know the ins and outs of this case so I won't speculate. But why must people always assume the person shot was completely innocent and the office is an evil racist? A lot of times yes. But surely there are cases when an officer genuinely fears for their life and this is their only option? Why tarnish them just because?

Unless I'm reading this wrong. It seems like homocide isn't homocide in this case?
 

Kin5290

Member
This seems justifiable? The victim approached police officers with a deadly weapon in his hand and ignored multiple commands to halt or drop the weapon. It's unfortunate, but it appears that the officers acted appropriately within realistic bounds.

I'm not sure if a taser would have allowed the officers to avoid killing the man, since tasers have limited range and are blocked by heavy clothing.
 
I don't know the ins and outs of this case so I won't speculate. But why must people always assume the person shot was completely innocent and the office is an evil racist? A lot of times yes. But surely there are cases when an officer genuinely fears for their life and this is their only option? Why tarnish them just because?

Unless I'm reading this wrong. It seems like homocide isn't homocide in this case?

Tough to say, we don't know how gay the victim was.
 
Top Bottom