Heavily-redacted SIU report into Andrew Loku’s death released

A Special Investigations Unit report that absolved Toronto police of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of Andrew Loku has been released — albeit in heavily-redacted form.

The report determined that an officer used “justifiable force” in the July 2015 shooting of the 45-year-old victim, and said police were unaware that Loku suffered from mental health issues.

The SIU investigation found that two officers encountered Loku in a third-floor hallway of an apartment at 502 Gilbert Ave. around midnight on July 5, 2015. He was armed with a hammer.

According to the report, Loku was approaching police with the hammer, which contradicts what witnesses at the scene said. According to the report, Loku was “within two to three metres of the officer’s position” when he was shot. Loku was “eight to nine” metres away when police arrived at the scene.

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“I am satisfied on reasonable grounds that the shooting was legally justified and that there are therefore no grounds for proceeding with criminal charges against the subject officer,” SIU Director Tony Loparco wrote in the report.

The report also states that Loku’s blood-alcohol level was 247mg/100 ml of blood, which is just over three times the legal limit.

The report also addresses concerns about how police handle people in crisis situations.

“There has been much media and public attention given to the fact that Mr. Loku had mental heath issues and was, as such, not properly dealt with by the police. I can only say that on the record before me that there was no evidence that the police were aware of the fact that Mr. Loku had any mental health issues…”

However, Loparco raised serious concerns about a non-witness officer trying to access video of the shooting and interfering with the SIU’s investigation.

“The issue of the police improperly accessing the video and concerns about ‘gaps’ in the video were brought up by residents at the building and members of the CMHA,” he wrote. “Following the shooting, a non-witness officer saw fit to attempt to review and download the video recordings captured by cameras … where the shooting occurred. I have not as yet heard an adequate explanation for the officer’s conduct.”

Activist group Black Lives Matter has demanded more transparency from police and the SIU, citing the handling of Loku’s case.

SIU Report on Andrew Loku’s Shooting Death by CityNewsToronto