Family hurting amid SIU silence on police-car fatality
Carla Abogado was killed in February when she was struck by an unmarked police car. Ten weeks later, the SIU investigation is still ongoing.
By: Zoe McKnight Staff Reporter, Published on Sun Apr 27 2014 Toronto Star
Nastasha Carla Abogado died after she was hit by an unmarked York Regional Police vehicle on Feb. 13. Her family is still awaiting the outcome of an SIU investigation.
Months after her death, the family and friends of Nastasha Carla Abogado still have no idea how her final moments unfolded before she was struck and killed by an unmarked police car.
Abogado died Feb. 12. The 18-year-old was crossing the street after getting off a bus near St. Clair Ave. E. near Warden Ave. She was hit by a York Regional Police car that was unmarked but driven by an on-duty officer.
The teen, who went by the name Carla, had been returning home from her retail job. She died at the scene. The provincial Special Investigations Unit is probing the incident but no information has been released in the nearly 10 weeks since her death.
Those close to the teen have started a social media campaign, #JusticeForCarla, seeking answers.
“Family & friends are STILL searching for answers regarding the accident,” reads a posting on the Facebook page. “Carla was just 18 years old when she was struck & killed by an unmarked police car just steps away from her Scarborough home. There are still NO details about the accident.”
Flyers showing a black truck with its left front end crumpled were also distributed, asking for witnesses to phone the family home.
Carla’s father Guillermo Abogado has trouble sleeping at night and hasn’t been able to return to work. More information would help bring some closure, he said.
He and wife Sonia have retained a lawyer and asked the SIU for a meeting. Since there is no “final report,” a meeting hasn’t been arranged, Abogado said. The SIU could not be reached for comment Sunday.
“They are still doing some investigation. It’s not finished yet,” said Abogado, who came to Canada from the Philippines in 2003.
What the family wants is simple: “the truth about the incident and what really happened,” Abogado said Sunday, the day after a memorial mass was held for his eldest daughter at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church. She has been described as deeply religious, with an interest in math and art, and plans to become a nurse.
“I’m confident the justice system here is one of the best, so I will just hope for justice for my daughter.”
Carla’s brother Paul, 15 and Paula, 13, are also struggling.
“It’s hard but I’m coping,” Paula said. She and her big sister had planned a future of shopping sprees and children together. “Now she’s gone and I had to change all my life plans,” she said. “(Carla) would always give me advice on what to do or what to wear. Now it’s going to be harder, because I don’t know what to do sometimes.”
Ten weeks have thus far expired and still ABSOLUTE ZERO.
What would normally take less than a few hours or an on the spot call to 'charge, arrest and explain it to the judge' decision were it not a cop involved, certainly begs the question just WTF is the SIU doing except maybe trying to find something, anything so that they will not have to charge one of their own kind.
Case after case where the SIU/cops are involved, the delays stretching into months and months before any decision is reached, certainly provides credence to the thoughts of preferential treatment allotted to cops.
WTF are they waiting for?
Carla Abogado was killed in February when she was struck by an unmarked police car. Ten weeks later, the SIU investigation is still ongoing.
By: Zoe McKnight Staff Reporter, Published on Sun Apr 27 2014 Toronto Star
Nastasha Carla Abogado died after she was hit by an unmarked York Regional Police vehicle on Feb. 13. Her family is still awaiting the outcome of an SIU investigation.
Months after her death, the family and friends of Nastasha Carla Abogado still have no idea how her final moments unfolded before she was struck and killed by an unmarked police car.
Abogado died Feb. 12. The 18-year-old was crossing the street after getting off a bus near St. Clair Ave. E. near Warden Ave. She was hit by a York Regional Police car that was unmarked but driven by an on-duty officer.
The teen, who went by the name Carla, had been returning home from her retail job. She died at the scene. The provincial Special Investigations Unit is probing the incident but no information has been released in the nearly 10 weeks since her death.
Those close to the teen have started a social media campaign, #JusticeForCarla, seeking answers.
“Family & friends are STILL searching for answers regarding the accident,” reads a posting on the Facebook page. “Carla was just 18 years old when she was struck & killed by an unmarked police car just steps away from her Scarborough home. There are still NO details about the accident.”
Flyers showing a black truck with its left front end crumpled were also distributed, asking for witnesses to phone the family home.
Carla’s father Guillermo Abogado has trouble sleeping at night and hasn’t been able to return to work. More information would help bring some closure, he said.
He and wife Sonia have retained a lawyer and asked the SIU for a meeting. Since there is no “final report,” a meeting hasn’t been arranged, Abogado said. The SIU could not be reached for comment Sunday.
“They are still doing some investigation. It’s not finished yet,” said Abogado, who came to Canada from the Philippines in 2003.
What the family wants is simple: “the truth about the incident and what really happened,” Abogado said Sunday, the day after a memorial mass was held for his eldest daughter at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church. She has been described as deeply religious, with an interest in math and art, and plans to become a nurse.
“I’m confident the justice system here is one of the best, so I will just hope for justice for my daughter.”
Carla’s brother Paul, 15 and Paula, 13, are also struggling.
“It’s hard but I’m coping,” Paula said. She and her big sister had planned a future of shopping sprees and children together. “Now she’s gone and I had to change all my life plans,” she said. “(Carla) would always give me advice on what to do or what to wear. Now it’s going to be harder, because I don’t know what to do sometimes.”
Ten weeks have thus far expired and still ABSOLUTE ZERO.
What would normally take less than a few hours or an on the spot call to 'charge, arrest and explain it to the judge' decision were it not a cop involved, certainly begs the question just WTF is the SIU doing except maybe trying to find something, anything so that they will not have to charge one of their own kind.
Case after case where the SIU/cops are involved, the delays stretching into months and months before any decision is reached, certainly provides credence to the thoughts of preferential treatment allotted to cops.
WTF are they waiting for?
