Surrey RCMP officer charged in shooting death of Hudson Brooks
Brooks was shot outside a south Surrey RCMP detachment in July of 2015
An RCMP officer has been charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of assault with a weapon in the 2015 death of Hudson Brooks of Surrey, B.C.
Const. Elizabeth Cucheran was charged following a 15-month investigation into the early-morning police shooting death in a parking lot adjacent to the RCMP detachment.
Brooks, 20, was fatally shot outside the District 5 RCMP detachment on 152 Street in south Surrey on July 18, 2015.
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The B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges Tuesday morning, stating in a press release that it could not comment further on the charges or the charge assessment process because the matter is now before the court.
"It's just such a huge hole in our family without Hudson there," said his mother Jennifer Brooks.
Cucheran, who has been placed on administrative duties by the RCMP, is scheduled for a first appearance in Surrey provincial court on Jan. 9.
Brooks was shot around 2:30 a.m. PT.
According to information given to his mother Jennifer Brooks by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), Hudson, dressed in shorts and flip-flops, was in distress, screaming and walking in the middle of 152 Street near 18 Avenue in the moments before the shooting.
The attending police officer called for backup. Soon after, Brooks began pounding on the window of an RCMP vehicle.
More police officers came outside the detachment and Hudson started running toward them. That's when he was shot.
A police officer was also shot, although it remains unclear how that happened.
Jennifer Brooks told CBC News that according to the information she had received, her son was unarmed.
In October of 2016, the IIO wrapped up the investigation and sent its report to the B.C. Prosecution Service to consider charges.
The Brooks family repeatedly expressed frustration over how long the investigation was taking.
"You kind of lose your faith after time that the justice system will come through," said Hudson's brother Beaudry Brooks.
"More [serious] charges would have been nice but this has been a big step."
Family and friends started a movement called Justice For Hudson, holding marches through south Surrey which drew hundreds of people.
The family plans on leaning on one another for support over the holidays as they gear up for what could be a long and gruelling legal process.
"Christmas will never be the same," Beaudry said.
"No event will ever be the same without our brother there, however, this year there's a weight off our shoulders and hopefully we can enjoy it a little bit more."
