Ontario police have killed a man in crisis. Now they fight to keep their names private

A police station west of Toronto is fighting for a ban on the names of officers involved in the death of Ejaz Choudry, a schizophrenic father of four who was shot and killed by police. safety.

Peel Regional Police say they have published the identities of the five officers involved in the 62-year-old’s death in June 2020 – including one who fired two bullets into Choudry’s chest after his family called a non-emergency number when he was in a crisis – would endanger them and their families.

CBC News intends to oppose the application for a publication ban.

In a motion to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in May, lawyers for the force said that “the officers fear for their safety and mental well-being, and that of their family members.”

An officer involved in the shooting said he was afraid to go out in public with his family and was threatened and intimidated on social media and during protests, according to the police motion.

Choudry’s relatives say the move towards a publication ban smells of irony.

“Despite disregarding my father’s safety and well-being in the midst of a mental health crisis, these officers have asked the courts to respect and prioritize theirs,” said Choudry’s daughter, Nemrah Ahmad.

“It’s just an excuse to keep their names hidden from the public,” said Ahmad. “There has to be transparency and accountability.”

The motion will be heard next April. The family’s lawyers, Simon Bieber and Chris Grisdale, declined to comment.

Mental health call turned ‘tactical operation’: lawsuit

The motion comes as Choudry’s family prepares for a lengthy lawsuit after their hopes of facing criminal charges were dashed when the Ontario police watchdog declined to press charges against the officers involved.

In April 2021, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit concluded that the officers had acted correctly, saying the decision to open fire was “reasonable, necessary and proportionate to the threat posed by Mr. Choudry”.

Last June, the family filed a $22 million civil suit against the Peel Regional Police Services Board, Chief Nishan Duraiappah and the five individual officers for what they say was a “reckless” response to a mental health emergency call that ended up costing the life of Choudry shortened. .

Police insist they were dealing with an armed man who threatened them and that non-lethal measures to stop him were unsuccessful.

The civil suit, unreported so far, alleges that the officers’ actions violated Choudry’s right to life under the Charter, amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, and violated his right to equality as a racial person in crisis.

It also alleges battery and negligence, saying the way officers treated Choudry fell “well below” the standard of care.

“They negligently allowed a simple mental health call to get out of hand and become a high-risk tactical operation,” the lawsuit says, adding that police “deployed deadly force without justification.”

“The subject of the operation was a frail, racial, elderly man who suffered from non-life-threatening mental health problems and who was not fluent in English.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Shot within 11 seconds

As set out in the claim, Choudry’s family called Peel’s ambulance at around 5:30pm on June 20, 2020 because they were concerned that he was not taking his schizophrenia medication. Choudry seemed confused, they said. It was not the first time they had seen this happen and previous incidents were handled “without incident”.

But instead of receiving medical attention, Choudry would die that day.

Choudry’s daughter told the dispatcher that he carried a small pocket knife, but that it was not dangerous. Paramedics contacted police for help, who told Choudry’s family to leave the house.

When the police arrived, they asked in English to see Choudry’s knife, a request that his daughter had to translate. Choudry then retrieved an eight-inch kitchen knife from under the mat he was sitting on and told police to leave.

According to the lawsuit, Choudry said he “wouldn’t leave his house because he was afraid the officers would shoot him”. Later, when a Punjabi-speaking officer arrived, Choudry told him that he had no intention of hurting himself, according to the family’s civil claim.

Nevertheless, instead of waiting for a mobile crisis unit, officers gathered at Choudry’s doorstep and on his balcony with a plan to arrest him under the Mental Health Act. Choudry stopped responding to police around 8 p.m., after which the police broke into the home and yelled at him in English, the suit said.

Within 11 seconds of breaking down Choudry’s door, police tasered him, fired three rubber bullets at him and fired two rounds into his chest, killing him.

Police later confirmed that no mobile crisis response unit had been deployed to Choudry’s home, saying it was unavailable at the time. If the police had waited for the crisis team, his family thinks, Choudry would still be alive.

In a statement of defense, police lawyers denied the allegations, saying they made the decision to enter his apartment “out of immediate concern for his safety, given his family’s medical history, the increased likelihood of self-harm as he was in crisis and in possession of two knives, and the fact that the police had lost all contact with Choudry for a long time.”

The statement states that once police entered the house, Choudry approached them “in a threatening manner” with the knife and that non-lethal options to prevent him from continuing were unsuccessful.

It adds that any losses or damages suffered by the family were due to “their own negligence”, arguing that they failed to ensure that Choudry took his medication and received timely medical attention, and that Choudry used a kitchen knife should have known there would be a response from the police. .

The statement also says officers believed Choudry understood English and that Chief Durappiah should not be personally named in the lawsuit.

That defense was filed in October 2022.

‘I’m afraid’: officer who shot Choudry

In a motion filed May 19, 2023, police attorneys allege that officers faced multiple threats following Choudry’s death in the form of social media posts calling for their names to be made public, “vitriolic” comments at protests and a physical banner. on a major highway that the Peel police call ‘murderers’.

The motion claims those threats came from a community group called the Malton People’s Movement, which emerged after a string of deaths involving Peel police; an Instagram account called Eyes on Blue Lies; and individuals, including a YouTuber who threatened to publish the home address of at least one officer.

Choudry was one of four racialized people with mental illness who died at the hands of Peel police in the space of just a few months just before the police killing of George Floyd in the US, his daughter notes. Including those dead Clive Mensa November 2019, Jamal Francique in January 2020 and D’Andre Campbell April 2020.

At a demonstration following Choudry’s death, three members of the Malton group were charged with mischief after allegedly throwing red liquid on the walls of a police department, the motion said. At a protest in July 2020, the motion says that a relative of a man killed by Peel police in 2014 reportedly made verbal threats saying, “Why can’t they just shoot us like that? What if we start tie up and shoot back?”

Choudry’s daughter said immediate family played no role in the protests and no immediate or extended family was ever charged in connection with them.

Also included in the motion are affidavits from the officers involved, who speak of their fears in their own words. Among them is the officer who opened fire on Choudry – identified as John Doe Officer 1.

“I am not exaggerating when I say this is frightening. The passage of time has not helped, and I am afraid of how much worse things could get if my name is released to the public,” the officer says, adding that he has additional added locks and video surveillance to his home and taught his family to be vigilant of their surroundings.

The officer adds that going out with family “has become more of a task than a pleasure because of the measures we are taking to protect ourselves,” and that he is concerned for his wife, her business and their children.

Family says it “shouldn’t fight” for transparency

A threat assessor on the Peel Police payroll concluded in a report accompanying the motion that publicly naming the officers involved in Choudry’s death “increases the risk of violence against them and should be avoided” .

The reviewer, who said her award is “not tied” to her conclusions, notes that since the summer of 2021 there have been “no identifiable threats or communications to police.”

Asked about police linking Choudry’s death to threats against them, his daughter told CBC News: “I have a right to know who killed my father and that they use things beyond anyone’s control as evidence to prove their identity. suppression is nonsense.”

“I shouldn’t have to fight to know the names of the people who changed our lives for the worst.”