Should police officers who fatally shot a mentally ill man in crisis have their names shielded from the public?
That’s the question facing Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice amid a lawsuit by the family of Ejaz Choudry, a father of four with schizophrenia, shot and killed by police west of Toronto in June 2020 after his family called a non-emergency line for help.
Lawyers for the five Peel Regional Police officers involved in the death of the 62-year-old — including one who fired two bullets into Choudry’s chest — say publishing their names could put them and their families at risk of physical violence.
Lawyers for the family say there is no credible risk to the officers and that a publication ban would infringe on the public’s right to know the identities of the officers entrusted with the powers that ended with Choudry’s death and the media’s ability to report …