Shooting death of Hudson Brooks: B.C. NDP wants answers
Hudson Brooks was gunned down outside the South Surrey RCMP detachment in July 2015.
B.C. NDP's justice critic wants to know why the Independent Investigations Office is taking so long to provide its report on Hudson Brooks, who was shot to death by police in July 2015.
The 20-year old died after being shot outside a South Surrey RCMP community policing station. Now, the B.C. NDP is calling on the provincial government to address why Brooks' family still doesn't have answers eight months later.
"We're hearing that it's taking a long time to get some reports, ballistic for example. That again raises a lot of questions — why is it taking so long, why are there no answers," said Mike Farnworth, B.C. NDP MLA for Port Coquitlam.
"Is it a lack of resources, have you reduced staffing, are there shortages in staffing?"
- Surrey police shooting: Hudson Brooks wasn't suicidal, says family
- Hudson Brooks' family demands answers, 3 months after fatal shooting
The IIO is an independent civilian-led body that conducts investigations into on and off duty police incidents that result in death or serious harm.
'It's devastating'
Farnworth says the case was poorly handled from the start.
"It's devastating. I mean the family was not notified their son had been killed for 12 hours, the family was not allowed to see the body, right away, it took almost a week," he said.
"And then since that time, no answers."
Neither the IIO nor the RCMP has revealed what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting, and why, or how a weapon was drawn.
But the IIO has said that a female officer suffered a gunshot wound to the leg during an altercation, after responding to reports of a suicidal man.
Police confirmed Brooks was unarmed at the time of the shooting.