Close X
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
ADVT 
National

Family of police shooting victim seeks answers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Jul, 2020 08:11 PM
  • Family of police shooting victim seeks answers

The silence inside the Campbells' home west of Toronto has grown like a cancer in the weeks since April 6.

That's when D'Andre Campbell, one of six siblings who live in the Brampton, Ont., home with their parents, called 911 on himself and was later shot dead by police.

Before that night, laughter filled the house, along with the sounds of D'Andre Campbell's footsteps. He was the only one who wore shoes inside the house, his mother recalls, and the sound telegraphed his movements at all hours of the day.

"I miss those footsteps," says Yvonne Campbell, as tears fall into her face mask.

D'Andre Campbell's family still does not know why he called 911 that night. The province's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, says officers from Peel Regional Police were dispatched to a "domestic situation," but the family says the 26-year-old was no threat to anyone that day.

Two officers fired stun guns at Campbell before another officer fired his gun multiple times, according to the SIU, which has taken over the investigation. The SIU says a knife was recovered at the scene.

The Campbells, who are Black, say several of them witnessed D'Andre's death in the kitchen of their home, where he used to eat some of his favourite foods: spaghetti, lasagna and ice cream.

"My brother bled out there instantly and he didn't do anything wrong," says Campbell's sister, Michelle.

Three months later, the family says they have yet to hear from both the SIU and Peel police.

"I need justice for my son, I need answers," Yvonne Campbell says in a recent interview at the office of the family's lawyers — Jeremy Solomon and Mary DeRose — who are contemplating litigation.

The family did not want to discuss details of D'Andre Campbell's death due to the possibility of a civil action. But they want the public to know about his life.

Nearly 10 years ago, when D'Andre Campbell was 17, doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia. The family noticed he became quiet and withdrawn.

"He got very paranoid, so I knew something was off," Yvonne Campbell says.

Doctors prescribed him medication, she says, and he lived the vast majority of his life symptom-free — smiling, laughing and listening to music.

He worked for four years at a company's shipping and receiving department and was doing well for a time, Yvonne Campbell says, but at some point he "got a little edgy" and was given some time off.

He returned briefly to work, then stopped.

"I didn't really pressure him to work because I know his situation," his mother says. "I'd rather he be home."

The young man became a homebody, only leaving to go to the store, buy lottery tickets or to celebrate his birthday in mid-December at his favourite restaurant, Mandarin.

He felt safe in his home, the family says, and often did not go on vacation with them.

The family says they called 911 on several occasions in the past when D'Andre Campbell hit a "peak," which usually indicated his medication was no longer working.

"He'd be back and forth, wouldn't sit down and always thought there was something there," Michelle Campbell says.

Calling 911 was "the only way we can get him to see a doctor, he willingly won't want to go, so we have to call police and then he'll go," Michelle Campbell says. He'd spend a few days in hospital and then be fine.

The family say they want answers, but the SIU investigation into the young man's death could take up to a year to conclude.

"The system is screwed up," Michelle Campbell says. "Three months later and we still don't know anything. It's not fair and I don't have any faith in the investigation."

The family wants to know the contents of the 911 call along with the name of the officer who killed D'Andre Campbell. They also want that officer to talk to the SIU and provide his notes, which the watchdog agency says he has not done.

The SIU says they've interviewed four officers who witnessed the killing, but legally cannot compel the officer who shot D'Andre Campbell to be interviewed or give over his notes due to a regulation in the provincial Police Services Act.

Spokeswoman Monica Hudon says the agency only recently received results from the Centre of Forensic Science for items of evidence and received the post-mortem results last week.

"While the SIU recognizes it is important to resolve cases in a timely manner, the thoroughness of the investigation must take precedence over the length of time it takes to finish an investigation," Hudon says.

The Campbells also want to see changes to the way police respond to calls involving people who struggle with mental illness.

"They definitely shouldn't be going with guns," says Michelle Campbell, adding officers should be wearing body cameras.

Yvonne Campbell wants police to say they're sorry for her son's death.

"The police have torn my family apart," she says. "They haven't even apologized, or offered condolences."

Peel police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The youngest Campbell sibling, 10-year-old Claudius Jr., is struggling to cope with the sudden death of his brother, who would often offer him late-night snacks. Now the boy often cries alone in his room.

"Sometimes he doesn't want to sleep by himself so he comes into my room and I put on the TV till he falls asleep," says Michelle Campbell, the eldest of the siblings at 29, as she wipes tears from her face.

Dajour Campbell, wearing a shirt with his late brother's image on it, says time has lost its meaning.

"It's been the same day on repeat. I don't feel like getting out of my bed," the 22-year-old says. "It doesn't feel like the same house."

Yvonne Campbell says she tries to fill the silence with music to keep thoughts of what happened to her son at bay.

"It's very hard," she says. "Every day we get up looking for answers and there are no answers."

MORE National ARTICLES

Vancouver Police asks for witnesses to an unprovoked Downtown assault

Vancouver Police asks for witnesses to an unprovoked Downtown assault
Vancouver Police are seeking witnesses to an assault that occurred downtown last week. A 28-year-old Vancouver woman was sitting at a bus stop on the north side of Davie Street at Granville Street on May 7 just after 3 p.m., when a man struck her in the head with a bag containing multiple plastic bottles.

Vancouver Police asks for witnesses to an unprovoked Downtown assault

From potato salad to fireworks: how COVID-19 disruptions affect Victoria Day

From potato salad to fireworks: how COVID-19 disruptions affect Victoria Day
The Victoria Day weekend has long been the unofficial kick-off to outdoor season in Canada. But the COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every element of Canadian life, as physical distancing requirements forced the partial shutdown of the economy.

From potato salad to fireworks: how COVID-19 disruptions affect Victoria Day

Ottawa ready to help co-ordinate provincial testing, contact tracing: Trudeau

Ottawa ready to help co-ordinate provincial testing, contact tracing: Trudeau
Provinces looking to reopen their economies will need to scale up and co-ordinate testing and contact-tracing to contain future outbreaks of COVID-19, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Ottawa ready to help co-ordinate provincial testing, contact tracing: Trudeau

Freeland won't say if U.S. wants border agreement extended beyond June 21

Freeland won't say if U.S. wants border agreement extended beyond June 21
Canada and the United States are both "very comfortable" with their mutual ban on non-essential cross-border travel, but Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland won't say if the Americans want to extend the restrictions beyond June 21.

Freeland won't say if U.S. wants border agreement extended beyond June 21

Pandemic to push back new climate targets, plastics ban, Wilkinson says

Pandemic to push back new climate targets, plastics ban, Wilkinson says
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says plans to beef up Canada's national climate action plan and ban some single-use plastics will likely be delayed because of COVID-19.

Pandemic to push back new climate targets, plastics ban, Wilkinson says

COVID-19 wage subsidy to run to August: PM

COVID-19 wage subsidy to run to August: PM
A federal wage subsidy for employees in businesses hit hard by COVID-19 will last at least through the summer and the federal government is asking companies to rehire laid off staff — many of whom have received aid from an emergency benefit that has gone over budget.

COVID-19 wage subsidy to run to August: PM