Friday July 24, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. 59)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
Embracing Sea Fest: White Rock’s annual celebration of summer fun – Sea Festival – will be back on the waterfront Aug. 1-2 with renewed enthusiasm, new events and a return visit by the Legendary Powder Blues. i see page 11
S U R R E Y
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Real-estate agent died protecting his family from intruder
Loved ones say goodbye to a hero Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Colin Hill will be remembered as a hero – someone of strong character who always put his family and friends first, and who paid the ultimate price for doing just that. The popular real-estate agent was killed July 12 during an attempted break-in at his Cloverdale home, when he was shot while confronting an intruder. Hill’s wife, Becky Zhou, has said the fatal wound occurred when her husband led the would-be robber outside to give his family Colin Hill time to hide, and shooting victim those who spoke at his funeral Wednesday at Victory Memorial Funeral Centre say that was just the kind of man he was. “He would drop everything for his kids,” Barb Hiebert said of her cousin. “To put himself in harm’s way… for him, it was instinct. “He left our world protecting his own family.” Longtime friends remembered Hill, 42, as “like a brother.” He was also extremely competitive, a “tremendously gifted athlete and a true leader.” i see page 4
Kicker kicker
Water fines head head Body.
Evan Seal photo
Becky Zhou (centre) leaves Victory Memorial Funeral Centre following the funeral service for her husband, Colin Hill, Wednesday afternoon.
Police characterization that victim was ‘suicidal’ is part of investigation
Witnesses ‘critical’ to shooting-death review Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
As the mother of a young man killed by police last Saturday waited to see her son’s body, those investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting in South Surrey issued another appeal for help piecing together how Hudson Brooks came to be where he was when he died. “We are trying to identify any other witnesses who may be able to assist us in understanding how this lad came to
be on 152nd early Saturday morning,” Kellie Kilpatrick, spokesperson for the Independent Investigations Office, said by email Thursday. “Civilian witnesses are critical for us to speak with so that we can understand what led this young man to be in that situation.” Brooks, 20, died around 2:30 a.m. July 18, after police responded to reports of a “suicidal” man screaming outside of the South Surrey RCMP office, in the 1800-block of 152 Street.
According to police, a struggle ensued and Brooks was shot. An officer was also shot in the altercation, however, investigators have since revealed that only police-issued firearms were found at the scene. The officer’s wound was not life-threatening. The suggestion that Brooks was suicidal has been a point of contention amongst the young man’s friends and family, who have vehemently disputed the notion. Kilpatrick told Peace Arch News inves-
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tigators have not confirmed the detail. “Right now we know that the call for service (as per the RCMP) was for a distressed man who the caller reported as suicidal – we are not confirming that to be true or not true – as these are early days in the investigation,” she said. A statement from the IIO earlier this week noted “the actions of the police officer(s) when they received the call for service and when they came into contact with the deceased” is a key focus. i see page 4
Hudson Brooks shot by police