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Rebecca Aker Akol, surrounded by her household, walked to the place the place her son was killed one 12 months earlier and collapsed in tears.
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A pole on seventeenth Avenue between forty fifth and forty sixth Streets SE has been marked as a memorial to Tuel, embellished with flowers and a picture of the person, a South Sudanese refugee and former youngster soldier who lived in Canada for practically twenty years .
“Why did you kill my son?”
Tuel’s household say they’re nonetheless searching for solutions one 12 months after his demise. The Alberta Critical Incident Response Workforce (ASIRT) is investigating the police capturing, however has but to launch its findings.
“Why did you kill my son? Please inform me in order that my coronary heart can heal,” Akol, 68, mentioned by way of a translator. She arrived in Calgary from Ethiopia in December.
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Police mentioned they first fired rubber bullets and used a taser to disarm Tuel earlier than firing their service weapons. On the time, Tuel’s household mentioned he was within the midst of a psychological well being disaster, and argued the police didn’t deal with the scenario correctly.
Calgary Police Service Chief Mark Neufeld defended his officers’ actions, saying they had been responding to an lively weapons name, not one for psychological well being.
‘The toughest 12 months’: Household has unanswered questions
Nyalinglat Latjor, Tuel’s daughter, translated for her household in the course of the Sunday Vigil as tears streamed down her face.
She mentioned she nonetheless has unanswered questions, together with concerning the size of ASIRT’s investigation and the discharge of police physique digital camera footage.
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It was “essentially the most troublesome 12 months” for Latjor and her household, as they grieved Tuel’s demise, she mentioned.
“I miss him daily. I see him in my goals, I see him in my sleep, I see him after I get up, and it simply kills me not to have the ability to hear his voice anymore. I maintain replaying his movies on Fb, simply to see his voice, simply to see him snicker once more,” Latjor mentioned.
“I do know my father suffered, and I want (Calgary police) had taken every other manner so he might nonetheless be alive immediately.”
Through the vigil, Latjor remembered her father as an “unbelievable man” who believed in what was proper. She mentioned he was deeply linked to nature and to studying, and taught her how one can learn, write and cook dinner.
Race performed a job: sufferer’s brother
Tuel’s youthful brother Lim Kuony mentioned he believed his brother’s race performed a job within the police capturing.
“The way in which Latjor died is the best way we might all die,” Kuony mentioned. “If Latjor died due to how he appeared, due to the colour of his pores and skin, due to what he went by way of, it might be you tomorrow.”
Members of Black Lives Matter Calgary additionally attended Sunday’s vigil, echoing the household’s requires solutions from police.
They famous the anniversary of Tuel’s demise comes within the wake of a string of police-involved shootings, with three such incidents occurring in and round Calgary within the week ending Feb. 14.
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
