Police officer who fatally shot hammer-wielding man says he’s ‘devastated’
TORONTO — A Toronto police officer who fatally shot a hammer-wielding man in the city two years ago said Wednesday he was “devastated” by the confrontation’s grim conclusion, though he maintained he had no choice but to open fire.
Const. Andrew Doyle was testifying at a coroner’s inquest into Andrew Loku’s death and addressed the man’s relatives, who weren’t present, directly at one point.
“This entire event was an absolute tragedy for everyone involved,” he said from the witness stand. “This is not the result that anybody wanted, especially me. I am absolutely devastated by this and I’m sorry that this was the end result of the situation that I was involved in.”
The officer’s testimony was his first time speaking publicly about his role in Loku’s death, an incident that had sparked days of protest from the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter.