'I am afraid': Police who killed Ont. father seek to hide their names from public in court
CTV
A Toronto area police service is fighting to keep the names of the officers involved in the fatal shooting Ejaz Choudry from the public record amid an ongoing lawsuit, arguing “dangerous” consequences could befall both them and their families if their identities are released.
A Toronto-area police service is fighting to keep the names of the officers involved in the shooting death of Ejaz Choudry, a Mississauga father of four, from the public record, arguing “dangerous” consequences could befall both them and their families if their identities are released.
A Notice of Motion filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in May as part of civil proceedings in a lawsuit launched by Choudry’s family is seeking a publication ban of any information that could identify the Peel Regional Police (PRP) officers involved in the man’s death. According to the motion, publishing the identities of the five officers involved in the June 2020 death of the 62-year-old father would put them and their families at risk.
If passed, the motion would see a publication ban put in place preventing the dissemination of any information that could identify the accused officers, including but not limited to names, physical description or likeness, vocal or speech characteristics, and visual images broadcast on television and radio, in print, and by electronic means, the motion reads.
Within sworn affidavits, the officers said individuals threatened to release their addresses, displayed ‘wanted’ posters featuring their images and names, made verbal threats at rallies, and hung banners from Highway 400 overpasses labelling PRP officers as “murderers.”
While the officers argue that their right to safety outweighs the public’s right to open court documents, a Canadian human rights organization claims the case could pose a risk to access to information at a time when questions of systemic racism and treatment of vulnerable people within the law should be top of mind.
In an interview with CTV News Toronto Tuesday, Shakir Rahim, lawyer and director of the criminal justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, highlighted that local police services have been involved in several incidents involving the serious injury or death of racialized residents in recent years, and that, in turn, officers’ identities are a matter of public interest.
““There is a particular importance in the public knowing about those issues – not only because that is a form of accountability, but also because there might be other cases where these officers have been implicated,“ Rahim said.