Protest shuts down part of Allen Expressway

Protesters from Black Lives Matter-Toronto shut down a portion of the Allen Expressway Monday night to demand justice for two black men who recently died in interactions with Toronto police.

The group staged the blockage in response to the deaths of Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby, who were both shot by police.

Loku, a refugee from South Sudan, was shot at a West Toronto apartment complex after he allegedly refused to drop a hammer after being instructed to do so by officers. He was living in an apartment subsidized by the Canadian Mental Health Association when he was killed.

Carby, a Brampton man, was shot seven times by a Peel Regional Police officer during a traffic stop in September 2014. The Special Investigations Unit cleared the officer.

Desmond Cole, an activist and journalist who was invited to speak at the event, said it was originally planned as a 5 p.m. gathering at Eglinton Gilbert Parkette, near where Loku was killed.

He said the blockage evolved from the rally. Members of the group and supporters blocked cars trying to exit the highway via the southbound off-ramp by connecting their arms together with sections of plastic pipe.

“When some people started going in that direction, many others followed and then there were hundreds on the ramp,” he said.

“They were standing in a row, arms connected, in front of the highway itself.”

Protesters eventually headed onto the expressway and blocked traffic both north and south at Eglinton Avenue.

Black Lives Matter-Toronto created a Facebook event for the protest, writing: “This is for all Black folks in this city who have been unjustly carded, surveilled, assaulted or murdered by police.”

Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of Black Lives Matter in the United States, said racism is a global problem.

“This action is really important as we are in this current movement moment, to really challenge the ways that the law enforcement is undeniably allowed to kill black people with impunity,” Cullors said.

“Andrew Loku, who had mental health issues, was killed in his own home,” she added.

Protesters stopped traffic for about two hours until they left the road around 8:30 p.m.