Family of brother killed by police wants officers to be charged

On the day he would have turned 55, the family of a man shot dead by Mounties in Maple Ridge, B.C., last summerpresented a petition to the civilian oversight agency investigating his death.

It includedfour stark demands:fire Supt.Jennifer Hyland, head of Ridge Meadows RCMPdetachment; fireall officers involved in thedeath of Dinand chargethem with murder;stop sending police to mental health calls; and, call a coroner's inquiry into Din's death.

"The family's four demands are the least that can be done to respond to the RCMP's murder of Kyaw Din," reads the petition, which the family saysreceived hundreds of signatures in Canada and abroad.

Fifty-four-year-old Kyaw Naing Din, also known as Kyaw Naing Maung, died in an encounter with RCMP in the Fraser Valley communityon Aug. 11, 2019.

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Gayle Hogan, chief of investigations with the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), theprovince's police watchdog,accepted the petition.

The IIO continues to examine the case andHogan said the agency's chief civilian director,Ronald McDonald, will make a finaldecision about whether charges should be lald.

She said the agency understands the motivation behind the petition.

"Each family grieves in their own way," Hogan told CBC News.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Thant Din, the victim's older brother,asked the same question he's had since last summer: "Why [did] police kill my brother?"

"We are heartbroken."

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On the day he was killed, one of Din's sisters had called police to the home she shared with her brother and another sibling to assist in bringing Din, who suffered from schizophrenia, to the hospital for medical treatment. In the past, the family hadcalled policeto assist their brother for the same reason and received assistance.

Police have said Din had a knife,and that they used a stun gun on him before an officer shot him. Din's siblings say they've also beentold by the RCMP that an officer opened fire after Dinthrew a dumbbell at them.

But his family insists Din was sitting peacefully in his room holding only a glass bottle at the time. According tohis siblings, police entered Din's bedroom against hissister's advice, tasered him and thenshot him three times, including twice in the head.

"He's not going to attack police," saidThant Din. "He admired police." The deceased's brother said Dincollected police memorabilia.

"We don't buy that story from police at all."

Hla Myaing Ma, Din's older sister, said she and her two brothers were minutes away from the housewhen the police shot their brother. They wanted to help translatebetween law enforcementand Din, who spoke Burmese and knew few English words.

On Thursday, his sistertold media she believed Din's status as a "poor" immigrant playeda role in the police's decision-making on Aug. 11.

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"If my brother isrich and white [...] I think they're not going to shoot," she said.

In November, the family requested theB.C. Coroners Service begin a separate inquest into the death. At the time, Andy Watson, spokesperson for theCoroners Service, said that any decision about a coroner's inquest will have to wait until after the IIO investigation is wrapped up.

Underthe B.C. Coroners Act, an inquest must be held in almost all cases where someone dies while in police custody.