'He did not deserve this,' says friend of Erixon Kabera after SIU clears officers who killed him

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The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report outlining the events leading to the death of Erixon Kabera answered some questions for his family and friends, but many remain.
Two officers who shot and killed Kabera on Nov. 9 won't be criminally charged, the police watchdog said June 6.
"On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject official committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant's death," said SIU director Joseph Martino in the report.
That result is not what the family wanted, said his best friend, Andy Ganza.
"[The family is] angry. They're disappointed, they're sad," Ganza told CBC Hamilton. "He did not deserve this at all."
A rally for Kabera is taking place on June 19 at Hamilton City Hall, starting at 6 p.m. Ganza will be there, among others who knew him.
After reading the report thoroughly, Ganza said he was "shocked" and "disappointed" at the SIU's summary of events and its conclusion. He has a hard time understanding why or how Kabera had a replica hangun, as the SIU reported, and he questions what he sees as a lack of deescalation efforts and the "excessive" shots fired by police.
"None of us were there and [the SIU] were not there either, but we knew Erixon, so we have that on our side."
The report was published the same day as Kabera's oldest of three children was graduating from high school, Ganza said, and the family had asked the SIU to wait until after to release the report.
They had a "huge party" planned to celebrate the teen's achievement, with family visiting from abroad. The celebrations went well, he said, but it was a bittersweet moment.
"It felt like a slap in the face," said Ganza.
An SIU spokesperson told CBC Hamilton the family had asked to hold the release of the report until June 4, which is why they decided to post the report two days later.
"While transparency and timely communication are core to the SIU's mandate, we also recognize the human impact of our work. When appropriate, and without compromising the integrity of the investigation, we do our best to show sensitivity during what are often very painful and emotional times for those involved," the spokesperson said.
Kabera's death sparked outrage in Hamilton and beyond, including in the Rwandan community in Canada, of which Kabera was part. Family and friends have been demanding answers since he was killed.
"The report not only failed to deliver justice — it further insulted our community and deepened our pain," Rwandan Canadian Healing Centre (RCHC) Executive Director Kizito Musabimana said in a post on social media.
Kabera was an advisor to the RCHC board.
"We are still mourning. We are still seeking answers. And above all, we are still demanding justice," Musabimana wrote.
Kabera had 'no reason' to own a replica gun: friend
One of the biggest questions Ganza has is over the detail in the SIU report that Kabera was holding a replica gun the day police shot him in his apartment. He had held it up and walked toward police, the report said.
Ganza was supposed to meet with Kabera that night, Nov. 9, to hang out but was running late.
The pair was texting just 20 minutes before everything unfolded, he said, with nothing out of the ordinary. Kabera also spoke with other friends that afternoon, he said.
"He was fine. He was happy as usual," Ganza said.
According to the SIU, police were called in the afternoon to the floor where Kabera lived on Main Street W. when a resident reported a man had been knocking on their door and appeared to be holding a handgun.
Kabera would walk in and out of his apartment, according to the report, and approach the door of the resident's apartment where he would knock, turn the handle and ask to be let in.
Officers found Kabera in the hallway when they arrived and called out to him. He entered his apartment and locked the door, but then came out again, holding "what appeared to be a handgun in his right hand at waist level, pointed at the floor," according to the report.
The SIU said the object was not a real gun, but did appear like one.
Kabera then pointed the replica firearm at the officers and walked towards them, the SIU said. The officers responded with immediate gunfire, according to the report.
Ganza said he and the family don't believe Kabera owned the replica, and everything that happened after does not line up with what he knew about his friend.
"He would not even remotely do something that reckless, right? He's a 43-year-old man," he said about Kabera pointing the replica firearm at police. Ganza said Kabera had plans for his future, including a move to Montreal. "It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
Officers shot at Kabera 24 times, 8 bullets hit him
After Kabera pointed the replica at police, a female officer fired eight rounds while moving backward before falling to the floor, according to the report. Kabera kept walking forward. That's when the other officer, a male, shot six to eight more rounds, to which Kabera "remained unfazed."
The male officer then tripped and fell as well, according to the SIU. The female officer, "who had lost her firearm when she fell," fired her Taser at Kabera, which did not affect him, and he continued to advance on the officers.
The male officer fired seven to eight more shots moments later, after replacing his magazine, and that's when Kabera "collapsed and landed on his back."
Up to 24 shots were fired at Kabera, with eight striking him, according to the SIU.
Ganza said it was "excessive" and "way too much." And though he knows police have a "very difficult job, they should have had the training for a situation like this," he said.
Martino, the SIU director, said in the report the officers believed they had to fire their weapons at Kabera to protect themselves and because he was holding a gun.
"A further retreat or withdrawal might have been available to the officers, but neither was viable given the speed at which events unfolded and the presence of fifth-floor residents, whose safety would have been imperiled," the director wrote.
The female officer involved declined to be interviewed by the SIU, as is her legal right, but did release her notes, Martino noted. The other officer was interviewed, but didn't release his notes. The SIU also interviewed several witnesses, reviewed 911 calls, police radio recordings, forensic and physical evidence and a coroner's report.
Family believes there's more to the story
To Ganza's and the family's knowledge, Kabera did not have any mental health or substance abuse issues, nor did he have any ongoing problems with neighbours.
"He was a happy-go-lucky guy," he said.
Ganza had been to Kabera's apartment less than a week prior to his killing, and said everything looked normal and tidy, unlike after the events of Nov. 9.
"The apartment looked like it was ransacked," he said, adding that things were misplaced, broken or missing.
Ganza said he thinks there's more to the story painted by the SIU, which does not mention officers going into Kabera's apartment. It is unclear what or who did the damage, which Ganza said he saw himself after the shooting.
Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman told CBC Hamilton in an email the service will now conduct their own investigation, "as required by legislation." A report will be submitted to the Hamilton police board within 90 days and published on the board's website after review.
A Coroner's inquest will also take place, she said, "which will review this incident in detail."
Ganza said the family and their lawyer, Julian Falconer, are exploring the options they have.