Surrey officer-involved shooting death to be re-examined by coroner’s jury

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – The police-involved shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Surrey more than five years ago will be re-examined by a coroner’s jury.

Hudson Brooks was shot nine times in July, 2015 during what RCMP described as a struggle outside their detachment on 152 Street. Brooks’ family demanded further investigation after learning he was shirtless and not armed.

Charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon against one of the officers involved, Const. Elizabeth Cucheran, were stayed in September, 2019.

Documents released in September, 2020 by B.C.’s prosecution service said while evidence shows Cucheran fired the shots at Brooks, the law is clear that even the mistaken belief in the need to use lethal force is a complete defence.

Related Articles:

Initially, the Crown concluded that the shots the officer fired weren’t legally justifiable.

“While there was no doubt she was entitled to use some degree of force to defend herself as Mr. Brooks approached, the Crown was satisfied she was not entitled to resort to lethal force as soon as she did,” the prosecution service said in a statement.

But it said the evidence brought out at a preliminary inquiry significantly weakened the foundation of the Crown theory that a Taser provided a reasonable force option for the officer to use to try to stop Brooks.

It said testimony at the preliminary inquiry from experts meant the Crown was unable to prove that Cucheran’s failure to use the Taser when Brooks initially attacked her resulted from “any blameworthy conduct” on her part.

“The Crown is now of the view that the evidence strongly establishes that resort to her firearm was entirely reasonable in the circumstances.”

The inquest is slated to begin March 1 at the Coroners’ Court in Burnaby. The purpose of the inquest is not to find blame, but rather to determine what changes can be made to prevent something like this from happening again.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today