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A Coroner’s Inquest Into the 2010 Police Killing of an Ontario Man Has Begun

Eric Osawe was killed when an officer's submachine gun allegedly fired accidentally during a drugs and firearms raid in Toronto.

Photo by Jake Kivanc.

A coroner's inquest into the fatal police shooting of a Toronto man began Monday morning and is expected to last until September 23.

The investigation, observed by a jury and led by medical professionals, is meant to reexamine the case of Eric Osawe—a Toronto man who was killed in 2010 during a Toronto Emergency Task Force (ETF) raid on an Etobicoke apartment. Osawe, a Nigerian-born father of two, had a history of run-ins with the police before September 29, 2010—the day the ETF raided the apartment with weapons drawn in search of weapons and drugs. While attempting to restrain Osawe with the help of other officers, Const. David Cavanagh's MP5 submachine-gun—which was hanging from his vest by a sling—allegedly discharged a single bullet, which fatally wounded Osawe in his back. Cavanagh was subsequently charged with second-degree murder by the SIU, but was cleared of all charges when the judge ruled that the incident was an accident, and that police had reason to believe that Osawe may have been armed, or would have tried to reach for an officer's weapon if given the chance. The police also recovered a firearm from Osawe's home, which was used as evidence to Osawe's alleged involvement in criminal activities. In late 2015, a coroner's inquest was ordered after calls from the family and community to have another look at the case. At the time of the original charges, Cavanagh was the first Toronto police officer to have been charged with murder. However, in January 2016, Toronto Police Const. James Forcillo was convicted of the attempted murder of Sammy Yatim—the 18-year-old who was killed on a Toronto streetcar in July 2013—in what is considered by many as the most high-profile case of its kind in Canadian history. Forcillo—who dodged second-degree murder after a jury found the fatal volley of shots to be justified—was sentenced to six years in prison in July, but has since appealed his ruling and is out on bail.

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