Crystal de Balinhard said it is the small moments and the big milestones with her son, Chase, that she misses the most.
She told Global News she is still left with questions about her neurodivergent son, who died at the hands of police.
On Feb. 10, Surrey RCMP responded to reports of a person with a weapon near an elementary school near 70 Avenue and 185 Street.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) said there was interaction on someone’s private property between the individual and police during which police fired a weapon.
The victim was 15-year-old Chase, a student at Clayton Heights Secondary School.
“We won’t know until the investigation is over,” de Balinhard said.
“Chase was walking, non-aggressively, away from the RCMP. There wasn’t much de-escalation. They were yelling.”
Chase was walking around his neighbourhood with a pellet gun that was not loaded, de Balinhard told Global News.
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“I wish I could speak to the shooter and let him know that I know he didn’t wake up to shoot my boy that day, because I’m sure he’s suffering as much as we are,” she added.
This weekend, Chase will be celebrating his 16th birthday and they will be continuing the tradition of holding a freezie fundraiser in honour of Chase’s hero, Terry Fox.
The teen has held one in previous years to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation and de Balinhard said Fox was her son’s hero.
Now, Chase’s friend is helping continue the tradition.
“How could I honour Chase?” Seth Schroeder said.
“Like, how could I help remember him? And then I remembered the freezie sale from 2017 to 2018 and I thought it would just be a really good idea.”
The fundraiser will be taking place at the Save-on-Foods in Clayton Heights on June 27 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Chase is also being remembered with ribbons around the neighbourhood raising awareness for autism.
“There has to be changes because of this,” de Balinhard said.
“There needs to be more police training. They need to learn to recognize neurodiverse individuals.”
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