Police seek ban on names of officers involved in Mississauga man’s death

Police hope to keep the names of the officers involved in the death of a Mississauga man under wraps.

Ejaz Choudry, 63, was shot and killed in a Mississauga apartment on June 20, 2020 after police responded to a mental health call. Officers found Choudry kneeling on a prayer rug and armed with two knives, according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report.

In 2021, Joseph Martino, the director of the SIU, said he was not convinced the police involved in the shooting committed a criminal offence or used unreasonable force against Choudry, a schizophrenic man who was repeatedly described as “frail.”

The officer involved in the shooting did not face criminal charges.

The SIU decision led to protests, demanding justice for Choudry.

And last June, Choudry’s family filed a $22-million civil suit against the Peel Regional Police Services Board, Chief Nishan Duraiappah and the five individual officers who responded to the call, according to a CBC report.

Peel Regional Police (PRP) has requested a publication ban to not release the names of officers during the civil suit court proceedings, a Peel Regional Police spokesperson tells insauga.com.

“PRP is requesting an order anonymizing the identities of the involved officers,” the spokesperson said. “The requested order would cover the names of the officers and their families and would not cover any of the other details of the incident.  As the matter is before the courts, PRP will not be providing any further comments.”

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