Demonstrators gather in downtown Calgary demanding justice for Latjor Tuel

On Friday, a large group of demonstrators marched through downtown Calgary following the shooting death of a Black man last weekend. 

A large group of demonstrators marched through downtown Calgary Friday following the shooting death of a Black man last weekend.

“What I want is answers. I want to know why my father’s life meant so little,” said Nyalinglat Latjor, Latjor Tuel’s daughter on the steps of city hall. “Why was his body left there after the fact? Why was there not a different intervention?”

Tuel, 41, was shot and killed by police on Feb. 19 after investigators responded to a weapons complaint in the 4500 block of 17 avenue S.E.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team said Tuesday that Tuel was holding a stick and a knife, adding a witness reported he hit someone with the stick.

“We’ve heard from police that they received a (911) call and we want to hear the contents of that 911 call,” said Charles Odame-Ankrah with the Calgary African Community Collective.

“We want to change the narrative that police have put out. They’re focusing on the shooting,” Odame-Ankrah said. “What we’re complaining about is their action that led to the escalation, which led to him being shot.”

Family friends said Tuel was a child solider from Sudan and had been dealing with mental health issues.

“He was never a violent person,” protest organizer David Top said. “He survived the civil war in Sudan and lived in a refugee camp so he had been through tough times for sure.”