Toronto teen claims he was a victim and not a perpetrator in January gun call
An 18-year-old taken into custody in January after a Toronto school went into lockdown amid screams someone had seen a gun has told CTV News Toronto he was a "victim" and "not the perpetrator."
“They huddled around me, and then I’m attacked,” said Ahmaud Benjamin Cockburn.
In a $2 million civil suit he’s launched against the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Police Services Board and six students, Cockburn claims he was attacked by a group of boys at Marc Garneau Collegiate yelling racial epithets after he tried to break up a lunch-hour fight on Jan. 19.
“My face was obviously very bloody because i was just attacked, my nose was broken and there was blood on my shoe.”
Cockburn says while panic reigned, he himself ran toward the school guidance counsellor’s office.
“I don’t even know the whole school is panicking, everybody’s running away from me. Like it hasn’t even registered yet that people think that I have a gun on me.”
Cockburn says first responders were called, but instead of medical attention, he was peppered with questions from police.
“All you have to do is check the cameras you know? I kept repeating to them — just check they cameras, because [other students are] saying they saw me with a gun. I‘m telling you there was no gun. All you have to do is check the cameras.”
Cockburn’s guardian arrived while the school was in lockdown. Andrew Kizic, a former first aid instructor, says he took one look at the teen’s battered face and asked: “‘Has medical been called at all? Has anybody taken a look at him?’ And the police officer that was there was like, ‘Oh, you want medical?’”
Kizic says the teen was promised medical attention — if he answered officers’ questions first.
“I can’t name another…school education system where you are allowed to get punched in the face, then detained, and not offered medical.”
The 18-year-old was eventually taken into police custody, which he describes as very traumatizing.
”I was sitting there just in the back of a police cruiser in handcuffs, like, tight, my wrists were bruised, they were cut. And I’m telling these officers, I’m telling them — I need to use the washroom.”
Cockburn claims, however, that he was laughed at, and made to wait another hour before he was permitted to use the bathroom.
“I want to know what their protocol was that led them down this path to say, ‘Okay, we have to put him in cuffs, even though we found nothing. And we’re going take him down to the station and let him urinate on himself in the back of a cab,’” said Kizic.
When approached about the incident, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer issued CTV News Toronto this statement: “As this is before the courts, it would be inappropriate for us to comment.”
Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the TDSB, meanwhile, wrote: “As this is currently before the courts, we’re not in a position to comment further at this time. However, external counsel retained by the TDSB will be responding to the lawsuit in short order.”
But Cockburn’s guardian wants answers now. “This is ridiculous, I was enraged, I was angry.”
And Andrew Kizic wants someone to be accountable for what happened.
“There was complete neglect for his health and well-being.”
Cockburn says he wasn’t released by police until after 10 p.m. No charges were laid. Neither, however, did he receive an apology, nor any medical attention.
“I was just answering to police questions. There was no help from the school board at all.”
Cockburn says he now suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. But it’s his reputation that has taken the hardest hit.
“They don’t know what really went down that day. They just know the stories that they were told.”
None of the allegations have been tested in court, nor have any statements of defence been filed at this point.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.