A coroner’s inquest will look into the RCMP-involved death of Hudson Brooks starting this spring.
Hudson Daryl Brooks was shot and killed by a Surrey RCMP officer on July 18, 2015 after an incident in the 1800 block of 152nd Street.
It later emerged that he was shirtless and unarmed when he was shot.
The RCMP officer who fired the shots, Const. Elizabeth Cucheran, was charged in 2017 with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Cucheran also suffered a non-lethal, self-inflicted gunshot during the encounter.
A preliminary inquiry had been held and the case was set to go to trial when those charges were stayed in 2019.
The Brookswood Secondary grad’s family had held ‘Justice for Hudson’ rallies and marches in the years between his death and the laying of charges, and Hudson’s mother Jennifer said she that the dropping of charges made her sick.
“I just feel like I’ve lost Hudson all over again,” Jennifer Brooks told Black Press Media in 2019.
READ MORE: Charges dropped against officer who shot and killed Hudson Brooks in 2015
Coroner’s inquests are held to determine the facts surrounding a death, but do not lay blame.
A corner’s jury will hear evidence and witnesses, and can make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
Coroner Lyn Blenkinsop is to preside over the inquest, which is scheduled to start on March 1 the Burnaby Coroners’ Court in the Metrotower complex.
There will be livestreams of the inquest available if COVID-19 prevents attendance in person by the public.
Coroners inquests have looked into police-involved deaths, deaths in jails and prisons, and drug-related deaths that considered issues around the medical system and drug prescriptions.