'He deserved help': Kitchener man speaks out after his brother dies in police-involved shooting

The family of a Kitchener, Ont., man who was shot and killed during an interaction with police says the 31-year-old didn't do anything wrong.

Andre Nembhard is the brother of Nicholas, the 31-year-old man shot by police Monday night. Nembhard says officers were called to their home to help Nicholas because he was having a mental health crisis.

Now, Nembhard says he's feeling "traumatized" and "depressed" following the incident.

"He was here and he wasn't feeling good and we decided to get some help," he told CBC News on Tuesday. "And then we call the police to help us." 

He said that his brother Nicholas was distressed and had taken a knife with him outside. They'd heard gunshots shortly after that. 

"I couldn't even believe that that's my brother that we were trying to get help for because he deserved help," he said, as he remembered seeing Nicolas' body.

"That guy don't do nothing wrong."

Andre said that his brother had schizophrenia but had stopped his medication with his doctor's approval. Nicholas felt his situation was improving.

Investigation underway

The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating what transpired Monday night.

In a release, the SIU said officers with the Waterloo Regional Police Service had been called to a home in the area of Brybeck Crescent and Karn Street for a "disturbance call" shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. 

"Upon arriving at the scene, officers encountered a man holding an edged weapon," the SIU release said. "There was an interaction and one officer discharged his firearm. The man was struck."

The 31-year-old man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Family refutes claim of 'disturbance call'

Andre and Nicholas' other brother, Mario, who was also at the scene when their brother was shot, both refute the claim that they made a "disturbance call."  

"We just called them to get him to the hospital," Mario said. "To get him on medication." 

"We know that he's not feeling well," Andre added. "We were just trying to get some help so they could help us bring him to the hospital." 

Monica Hudon, a spokesperson for the SIU, said she was unable to confirm whether police also received a call about the man's mental health. 

"If we knew they were going to do this to Nicolas we would have never called the cops for that," Mario said.