Mississauga man killed by police during mental-health call
Hashim Choudhary addresses the media in front of the apartment building where his uncle, Ejaz Choudry, was shot by Peel Police and died at the scene the previous night, in Mississauga, Ont., June 21, 2020.Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a Peel Regional Police officer shot and killed a 62-year-old man with schizophrenia whose family had called a non-emergency line hoping he would be taken to hospital and helped through a mental-health crisis.
Mr. Choudhary spoke at a news conference on Sunday outside his uncle’s apartment in Mississauga’s Malton neighbourhood, west of Toronto, where about 40 family and friends gathered to call for a public inquiry into the shooting. Some waved signs demanding “Justice for Ejaz” – an echo of the banners carried at recent protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Their stories have all contributed to calls in Toronto and across North America to defund police departments – or to at least cut their budgets and redirect the money to social workers and experts in defusing mental-health crises. The SIU is investigating one subject officer and nine witness officers. It has obtained video footage related to the case, according to the Sunday statement.Part of the incident that led to Mr. Choudry’s death was apparently captured in a 19-second clip posted to social media on the weekend.
Mr. Choudry’s wife and his children, who range from the ages of 7 to 18, were cleared out of the apartment, Mr. Shahzad said. When the team that responded first – Mr. Shahzad believed they were paramedics – realized Mr. Choudry had a knife, the initial responders called police.
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