A member of the Police Special Investigations Unit inspects a used shell casing after Michael Eligon was fatally shot by the Police after allegedly threatening officers with scissors in Toronto on Friday February 3, 2012.Chris Young/The Globe and Mail
The father of a Toronto man who was fatally shot by police says there doesn't appear to be any justification for his son's death.
Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Eligon was shot by police in early February after he escaped from Toronto East General Hospital.
He was armed with scissors and was dressed in a hospital gown at the time.
A coroner's inquest has been launched into his death, which has raised concerns about how police are trained to handle people with mental illness.
His father, Michael Eligon Senior, says in a statement that his son was not a violent person and his family is now determined to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Mr. Eligon has hired two lawyers to represent him at the inquest.
He says he wants the "entire truth" about his son's death to come out so that justice can be served.
Mr. Eligon also says his son's death is a tragic loss for the family, including his eight-year-old grandson.
The province's police watchdog has ruled there are no grounds to charge the officer who shot Mr. Eligon.
But the Special Investigations Unit suspended a forensic investigator who was filmed wearing what seems to be a police ring while working in the agency's lab.
It also disciplined two others who appeared to draw conclusions about the incident before completing their interviews.