Family Members Report Regis Korchinski-Paquet Killed by Toronto Police (May 27, 2020) Black Lives Matter

Family members and witnesses have reported that Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Black woman, was killed by being shoved off an apartment balcony by Toronto police on the evening of May 27, 2020. They also report that there was interference by police in preventing them from getting their story to mass media.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in Ontario is examining the case. According to the SIU, police claim they were called to an apartment building near High Park Avenue and Bloor Street West, at around 5:15 PM. The SIU say that when officers entered a unit on the 24th floor, “A short time later, the woman fell from the balcony to the ground below.”

Witnesses, including the victim’s mother, say that this is not what happened and that Regis Korchinski-Paquet was shoved by officers. Witnesses also claim that her body was left on the ground below for a substantial amount of time. We know in case after case of police killings of civilians that the word of police when they kill is to be treated with the highest degree of skepticism. Families who have had to suffer the brutality of seeing a loved one killed by police need to be listened to and believed.

The SIU has assigned two investigators and two forensic investigators to the killing.

For a video report by family members see: https://twitter.com/YAMAGUCHlll/status/1265841816462602240

Man Dies in RCMP Siege at Home in Chilliwack (May 23-24, 2020)

An RCMP siege at a home in Chilliwack, British Columbia, has left one man dead, The circumstances are still unclear, with reports shifting as the event unfolded over several hours overnight on the evening of May 23 and morning of may 24, 2020.

It has been reported that RCMP were called regarding a distraught man at a home in the 46000 block of Christina Drive, at around 5:30 PM on May 23. Initial reports said the man fired a shot or shots when police arrived. That has not been confirmed publicly. It has also been reported that more officers, an emergency response team, a crisis negotiator, and a police helicopter were also deployed to the scene. Nearby homes were allegedly evacuated.

The story is even less clear regarding a supposed interaction between the man and police, after about six hours, when police, for some reason fired shots as the man exited the home. He then ran back inside the home.

It is reported that a police robot was used to enter the home and search it, finding the man unresponsive. He died at the scene.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in British Columbia is examining the events resulting in the man’s death.

Alberta RCMP Shoot, Kill 27-Year-Old Man Following Pursuit on Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Leduc, May 6, 2020)

Alberta RCMP shot and killed a 27-year-old man following a vehicle pursuit on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, near Leduc, Alberta (south of Edmonton). The chase and killing began at a home in Blackfalds, north of Red Deer in central Alberta, at 8:15 AM.

It has been reported that RCMP were responding to a complaint about a gun, Police claim that when they arrived at a home in Blackfalds shots were fired at their vehicles and a woman who was a bystander was shot and taken to hospital with serious injuries.

It is reported that the man at the house left in a vehicle, and police attempted to stop him using a spike belt when the vehicle was potted heading north on the highway. Police undertook a pursuit of the vehicle and at least one witness has reported seeing five or six police SUVs on the wrong side of the road chasing a black BMW. A police vehicle was said to have struck the back of the BMW, spinning it sideways.

Multiple witnesses report hearing several shots in succession (CBC 2020; CP 2020). One witness reports hearing around 40 shots. That witness says this all happened in about five seconds. Police them charged the vehicle pulling the stricken man from it (CP2020).

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the agency that examines cases of police harm in the province, is investigating the killing.

 

Further Reading

CBC News. 2020. “Man Killed, RCMP Officer Injured in Armed Confrontation South of Edmonton.” CBC News May 6. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/shooting-police-alberta-1.5557908

CP. 2020. “Man Dead, Mountie Injured After Shootout on Busy Highway Near Edmonton.” MSM May 6. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/man-dead-mountie-injured-after-shootout-on-busy-highway-near-edmonton/ar-BB13HrBV?ocid=spartanntp

Thirty-One-Year Old Man Dead in RCMP Shooting, Clyde River, Nunavut (May 5, 2020)

A 31-year-old man in Clyde River, Nunavut, is dead after an RCMP officer fired their weapon in what is only described as a “use-of-force situation” on May 5, 2020. Details about this death are still very much limited. It has been reported that officers responded to an undisclosed “incident” at around 11 PM. While at a residence an officer “discharged their firearm.” The victim was transported to a health care center where he was pronounced dead.

This case will not be subject to an independent investigation, Instead two investigators and two forensic officers from the Ottawa Police Service will investigate the incident, travelling to Nunavut on May 7. Cops will be investigating cops, days after the event occurred.

Toronto Police Shoot and Kill 30-Year-Old Man in Jane-Finch (April 30, 2020)

Toronto police officers shot and killed a 30-year-old man outside a Best Western hotel at Finch Avenue West and Norfinch Drive on April 30, 2020. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in Ontario, reports that police were called to the area around 12:15 PM regarding reports of a man in a car with a gun and a knife. The SIU claim that police identified a “vehicle of interest” and approached it. At some point, according to the SIU: “There was interaction and the officer discharged his firearm, resulting in the man being struck.”

There is some contradiction in police reporting. Police initially reported that one person was shot and taken to hospital. Yet paramedics have said that they did not transport any person from the scene of the police shooting.

A witness has reported seeing 20 police officers descend on the victim. The witness also says that the officer who approached the victim with gun drawn, and seemed to stand over him with gun pointed, was in plainclothes and that he was not even certain that this man with the gun was a police officer.

The SIU have assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to examine the case. They have designated one subject officer and three witness officers.