The mother of 20-year-old Hudson Brooks of Surrey, is still in shock over learning from the Independent Investigations Office this week, that he died in moments after coming in contact with police.
“You can’t just kill him at close range,” said Brook’s mom Jennifer.
Early in the morning of July 18 last year, Brooks was heard yelling and wandering down 18th Avenue towards the South Surrey RCMP station.
The IIO told his mom how the last moments of his life played out.
“He then proceeded to bang on the hood of the police car screaming ‘help,’ two officers walked behind the car, Hudson ran up to them completely unarmed,” Jennifer said.
“An officer opened fire and shot him at close range.”
READ MORE: Rally held for man fatally shot by Surrey RCMP in 2015
She says his son wasn’t wearing shoes or a shirt at the moment of the incident.
For the past year family and friends have held protests demanding answers as to why police fired on Brooks instead of restraining him.
The IIO could not give the answer, because the officer who shot Brooks has not have provided a statement.
“If you as an officer shoot and kill a young unarmed man, you should be demanded to make a statement,” Jennifer said.
The RCMP member who witnessed the shooting is required to provide the IIO with a statement. But the subject officer who pulled the trigger, does not.
READ MORE: Few answers into deadly police shooting of Hudson Brooks
“Subject officers do sometimes, they do provide us with a voluntary statement. They do sometimes come in for an interview but that is their own decision, that’s the purview,” Marten Yussef, IIO Spokesperson said.
“We cannot compel subject officers to testify, only the courts are able to do that.”
Youssef also confirmed that even the RCMP’s own incident report about the shooting is not legally required to be handed over to investigators.
“How did this happen? I want that officer charged. I want that officer charged because this is not OK . I will never ever, ever, have my son back.”
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