A coroner’s inquest will be held regarding the death of a South Sudanese man who was shot and killed by Toronto police in July.
Andrew Loku, 45, was shot by a Toronto police officer in an apartment building in the Caledonia and Rogers roads area on July 5, 2015.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the coroner’s office said that the inquest will “examine the events surrounding Loku’s death.”
A jury in the inquest may also make recommendations on how deaths similar to Loku’s can be prevented in the future.
Loku, a mentally ill man, was shot as he wielded a hammer in a hallway of an apartment building. According to the Special Investigations Unit, officers were called to the building after they received a report that Loku was threatening to kill a woman there.
The SIU said that once officers arrived on the scene, they approached Loku and requested he drop the hammer.
Police said Loku refused to drop the hammer and began moving toward the officers with the hammer held above his head.
An unidentified Toronto police officer proceeded to shoot Loku twice.
The SIU launched an investigation into Loku’s death and later ruled that the police officer who fired the shots did not surpass “the ambit of justifiable force.”
Following the decision, the Black Lives Matter movement of Toronto staged a 15-day protest outside police headquarters.
On Wednesday, Black Lives Matter Toronto applauded the announcement of a coroner's inquest into Loku's death in a press release.
"We are finally seeing some concrete action from our province," Rodney Diverlus, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, said in the statement. "This is a major victory for Loku's family and community, and has been a long time coming. Following #BLMTOtentcity, we gave government officials 300 hours to respond to our demands. This is a step forward in the right direction."
The release reiterates demands made by Black Lives Matter Toronto following Loku's death, including the public identification of the officer who killed Loku, the release of any video footage from the scene where Loku was killed, an investigation into the SIU and more transparency in policing.
Loku’s death has been at the centre of Black Lives Matter Toronto’s recent mobilization.
"We are still mourning over the injustice and what it took to move the hand of the province, and hope that this signifies a stronger commitment by the province to work with community in seeknig justice for Andrew Loku, and all other victims of police violence," Black Lives Matter co-founder Sandy Hudson said in the statement.
The start date of the inquest has not yet been released.
