Man killed by police in Malton ‘harmless,’ family says
Relatives call for inquiry as SIU investigates shooting during mental-health-crisis call
The family of a man killed by Peel police responding to a mental-health-crisis call in Malton are demanding to know why the officers didn’t de-escalate the situation before opening fire on Ejaz Choudry.
Choudry’s family said he suffered from schizophrenia and other medical conditions that rendered him so frail he was “harmless” and would have posed no danger to anyone.
“After his third or fourth step he’d have to sit down because he couldn’t breathe,” his nephew, Hassan Choudry, told a news conference Sunday.
“You’re telling me a 62-year-old man, father of four, is going to get up — he can barely breathe to begin with — and run and attack you, in his own home (which) he felt safe in? How does that make sense?”
The shooting comes at a time of intense focus on how police respond to mental-health crises. The SIU is still investigating how and why Regis Korchinski-Paquet fell from her highrise balcony in Toronto’s west-end after police responded to a 911 call that she was in mental distress.
Last week, Uppala Chandrasekera, a member of the Toronto Police Services Board, said the “system is broken when our only option is to send the police into a mental-health crisis situation.” Social workers, mental health and addictions workers should be involved when such calls come in, she said.
The Special Investigations Unit is reviewing the shooting, as per protocol when police are involved in a serious injury or death. But Choudry’s family and the Muslim Council of Peel are calling for an independent inquiry, as well as an immediate review of police use of force, particularly during mental-health calls.
“It is very difficult for families to call anyone for help, especially the police in such incidents. I am heartbroken for the family,” Rabia Khedr, the council’s executive director, said in a statement.
“Police are trained to catch criminals and shoot to kill. Regardless of all the mentalhealth training they receive, they should never be the first responders in such incidents. We have to invest in crisis intervention services with the right expertise and protocols to manage someone in mental distress.”
In a statement Sunday, the SIU said that at approximately 5 p.m. the previous day, Peel regional police officers responded to a call at 3425 Morning Star Drive, an apartment building near Goreway Drive, to “check on the well-being of a man.”
“Shortly after communication stopped, officers breached the door and entered the unit. An interaction occurred which included officers deploying a conducted energy weapon at the man, as well as firing plastic projectiles” from an Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield, a special weapon designed to be less lethal than regular firearms.
“When these had no effect, an officer discharged a firearm and the man was struck.”
A Peel police spokesperson said Saturday night that police believed the man had access to weapons and was a danger to himself because he wasn’t taking prescribed medication.
The man had barricaded himself inside his home, but police said they were able to speak to him through a door until he stopped communicating just before 8 p.m. Officers then decided to enter the residence, she said.
There was an interaction and shots were then fired at the man, police said. Choudry was pronounced dead at 8:38 p.m.
Ibrahim Hindy, acting president of the Muslim Council of Peel, said a cellphone video purporting to capture tactical officers on Choudry’s balcony demonstrates how badly things were handled.
He believes it shows officers used a ladder to climb up to a second-floor balcony, before breaking down the door and firing weapons in from outside; viewers of the video have said they hear police shouting “put the knife down.” The images were recorded by a resident in a building across the street and shared with the family, Hindy said.
The man’s nephews, who were at the scene, asked officers if they could go to the apartment to help defuse the situation, “talk to him, maybe calm him down a little bit,” Hindy continued. Police refused, indicating they would deal with him peacefully.
“There was no reason for that to have happened. If they had to wait longer for him to calm down, wait longer — why did they have to break in? It makes absolutely no sense and shines the light on the militarization of police.”
Hindy said the family says there is no chance he had a gun — “he’s never seen one in his life.” The SIU reported a knife was recovered.
Choudry has had previous schizophrenic episodes, but the family say he was a loving father, who took care of his family, loved cooking and was “an incredibly nice guy.”
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates incidents involving the police that have resulted in death, serious injury or reports of sexual assault. Six investigators and three forensic investigators are overseeing the investigation into the man’s death.
The SIU is asking anyone with information or videos of the incident to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529.
“Police are trained to catch criminals and shoot to kill. Regardless of all the mental-health training they receive, they should never be the first responders in such incidents.”
RABIA KHEDR MUSLIM COUNCIL OF PEEL