Activists and allies continue week-long protest in response to the decision not to charge the officer who killed Andrew Loku
Black Lives Matter protesters have been camped out in front of Toronto Police Headquarters since March 20, after being ejected from their earlier location at Nathan Phillips Square.
The protest was sparked by the Toronto Police Special Investigation Unit’s decision not to bring charges against the unnamed officer who killed Andrew Loku. Loku, who resided in an apartment complex for people living with mental illness, was shot by police during a dispute with one of his neighbours last summer. According to the SIU, one of the officers “felt threatened” by the fact that Loku was carrying a hammer, and shot him twice on the left side of the chest. While the police say that Loku was told to drop the hammer he was carrying several times, a civilian eyewitness countered that they shot almost immediately upon seeing him. Robin Hicks, a neighbour and close friend of Loku’s, said, “I’m not talking five minutes, or two minutes. I’m talking seconds here. We didn’t get a word in.”
On March 19, the SIU ruled that the officer’s use of force against Loku was justifiable, and the Toronto chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement organized a protest in response.
The Black Lives Matter movement was created in 2012 in response to the death of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the police officer who killed him. According to their manifesto, their aim is “broadening the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state.” Since its inception, the group has focused their protests on the deaths of Black people at the hands of the legal system, and the systems that support these deaths.
In this particular case, Black Lives Matter Toronto has sent a set of demands to the City of Toronto. In particular, they are calling for more transparency and accountability in the death of Loku, an overhaul of the SIU in consultation with the Black community and families of police violence, and a condemnation of the tactics used against the Black Lives Matter protesters in the past. Additionally, they are demanding an end to carding, the system of regulations that allows Toronto Police to stop, question, and document people without a specific offense, which often targets POC disproportionately.
Although the protests have been peaceful, they have faced backlash from the Toronto police. On the night of March 21, the police raided the protesters’ encampment, putting out their fires and tearing down their tents. Rabbia Ashraf, one of the protesters, says that police “were pushing people, they were shoving people, they were throwing people to the ground and trampling them.” The Toronto Police say that they used minimal force to remove what they say were unlawful structures.
Despite the police actions and the cold, wet weather, the BLM protesters have remained in front of Toronto Police Headquarters. They have been using social media as an organizing platform, recruiting donations, food and warm clothing for the protestors under the hashtag #BLMTOtentcity. As of publication, the protest is ongoing.
As Pascale Diverlus, co-founder of Toronto’s BLM chapter, said, “We will continue to fight until they understand that our lives do, have always, and will always matter.”
