Beau Baker family sues police for $6M in Kitchener shooting death
Family seeking $6 million and answers, lawyer says
The family of Beau Baker, who was shot and killed by a Waterloo Regional Police officer a year ago, has filed a civil suit against the force seeking $6 million and answers, their lawyer says.
"They want justice for Beau Baker, but they also want the public to know the truth about what happened the night Beau Baker was killed," Toronto lawyer Davin Charney told CBC News after the family filed its statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener on Monday.
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The lawsuit names the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Police Services Board, Chief Bryan Larkin, officer John A Doe, officer John B Doe and "unknown" officers.
Charney said the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report into the shooting, which found the officer who fired seven shots at Baker was legally justified in his actions, was not released to the public and the coroner has decided not to call in inquest into the Kitchener man's death.
"There's really been no public airing of the circumstances around the death of Beau Baker and that's something that the family would like to see happen," Charney said. "The public is kept away from the entire truth of what happened the night Beau Baker was shot and killed."
Staff Sgt. Mike Haffner of Waterloo Regional Police said the force is aware of the lawsuit.
"Any death in our community is tragic. With the loss by the Baker family, they have decided to take legal action against the service. It would be inappropriate for the service to comment as this process has just commenced," Haffner said in an emailed statement.
Baker shot and killed April 2, 2015
Beau Baker died April 2, 2015, when he was shot outside his apartment building at 77 Brybeck Cres. Baker's family has said he had a documented history of mental illness and was obviously emotionally distressed when police arrived at the apartment building that night.
In a release about its decision, the SIU said Baker made a number of violent threats over the phone that evening, threatening to kill himself and hurt others – including police, paramedics and a passerby – with a knife he was holding. He also told a 911 operator he wouldn't surrender his weapon without a fight.
Bigger issues
Beau Baker's estate and Baker's family are seeking $6 million in damages, but Charney said the lawsuit isn't about the money.
"Fundamentally, the most important feature of the claim is that the officers that dealt with Beau Baker on the evening that he was killed used excessive force, but there's also the assertion in the claim, looking at the bigger picture, and this is not unique to Waterloo, that police officers of the Waterloo Regional Police are using excessive force when it comes to these kinds of encounters when they should be assisting a person who is in a mental health crisis," Charney said.
"It's a much broader problem with training and equipment and police culture, the use of force and how they're not really being trained to properly deal with people in a mental health crisis."
Those named in the suit will need to file a statement of defence within 20 days.