Victims Get Injustice
On June 29, 2024, Mathios Arkangelo was murdered by Edmonton Police. Despite having his hands up and surrendering. Being a young Black man walking outdoors was enough to get him killed by law enforcement.
I have been struggling with so many emotions since this happened - especially since the police officer who shot Mathios 4 times is on active duty. The police chief, the mayor, and the premier have not issued apologies.
When my baby nephew Hunter was a homicide victim in 2017, I saw firsthand how our system deals with victims' families. You'd think something called 'Victim Services' would provide services for victims. If the victim is dead, then you'd think services would be provided to the family dealing with the grief and trauma of losing their their loved one to a crime.
NOPE.
Someone says, "Sorry for your loss," and gives you a folder with forms to complete to apply for funding for things like therapy (I think we can all agree that therapy is necessary when your loved one is murdered in a crime) - but you likely won't get approved after jumping through all the hoops unless you were actually present during the crime to be almost killed as well. And when it comes time to actually seek justice for the murder of your loved one - it's not actually about justice. It's about what a crown prosecutor thinks they can win in court. This is in a scenario where the killer is someone that can be tried and charged and convicted (but in our case, they were never actually tried for murder).
In Mathios's case, the killer is a police officer. A police officer who has not even been suspended for shooting a young Black man 4 times on the street and killing him. Will he even be charged with anything?
The hell our family went through after Hunter's death is something I could not wish on anyone. The exponential compounding of this hell is what Mathios's family is going through. It is heartbreaking and enraging and depressing and horrifying.
We cannot stay silent. I know our system isn't designed to provide justice. But how we can we let this go on? Victims rarely get justice. Victims get injustice. And that's why we have to keep fighting.
PLEASE consider amplifying the cause for justice for Mathios Arkangelo.
Send a letter to Edmonton's mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Alberta's premier Danielle Smith.