He was accused of having a gun at school. Now, he's suing the TDSB and Toronto police
CBC
Ahmaud Benjamin Cockburn says he was having lunch in the gymnasium of his Toronto school when a fight broke out earlier this year. Not long after, the 18-year-old was arrested after it was reported he had a gun.
Now, Cockburn is suing the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Police Services Board for negligence, alleging he was a victim and not the perpetrator in the incident on Jan. 19 that plunged Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute into lockdown.
On Tuesday, Cockburn told CBC Toronto police never charged him and have failed to apologize.
"They released me, they gave me back my things, they told me 'We're releasing you...no charges,'" he said.
The Toronto Police Services Board and TPS declined to comment on the suit, saying they could not do so with the case before the courts. TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told CBC Toronto the board's external counsel "will be responding to the lawsuit in short order."
Cockburn is also suing six students for assault and battery causing bodily injury, according to a statement of claim filed on May 9 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Still, Cockburn said the ordeal has left him traumatized and feeling unwelcome in his community.
"Since I've been through this situation I don't even feel accepted in this community, you know. I can't leave the house without getting looks or being pointed at," he said.
"[The] majority of the students who live here go to that school, so they know. But they don't know what really went down that day, they just know the stories that they were told.
"There's ongoing PTSD — I've been seeing a therapist for that," he added.
The $2-million lawsuit alleges Cockburn was having lunch when a group of students, including some of the student defendants, began fighting and "insulting other students in the gymnasium by using racially charged epithets."
Cockburn — who did not see any teacher, supervisor, or lunch monitor on duty — intervened to break up the fight and told the students not to use those words, according to the statement of claim.
Cockurn said he heard one of the boys used the N-word and tried tried to explain "the use of this word can be very hurtful and you don't know the history behind it."
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