Following the death of Ejaz Choudry in Mississauga, Jagmeet Singh is calling for change. In a tweet on Sunday, the NDP leader mentioned Choudry, who was shot by a police officer just one day earlier. Singh went on to say that some crises should be responded to by healthcare workers, rather than police. On Saturday, June 20, Ejaz Choudry was shot by a police officer at his apartment, after Peel Regional Police arrived to perform a wellness check. The 62-year-old man was believed to have a medical condition, and had not taken his medication. A statement from the Special Investigations Unit says that Choudry was “barricaded” inside of the unit, and stopped communicating with officers. “An interaction occurred,” says the news release, which led to an officer discharging a firearm. Choudry was pronounced dead at the scene. On Sunday evening, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh addressed the news of Choudry’s death in a tweet, writing “Another cry for help. Another person killed by the police.” Singh continued, “His name was Ejaz Choudry. He should have been helped, not killed.” The NDP leader concluded his message by saying, “We need healthcare workers responding to people in healthcare crisis NOT the police.” Another cry for help.Another person killed by the police.His name was Ejaz Choudry. He should have been helped not killed.We need healthcare workers responding to people in healthcare crisis NOT the police.— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 22, 2020 This isn’t the first time that Singh has made calls for changes to policing in Canada. Last week, following the deaths of Rodney Levi and Chantel Moore, Singh spoke about the “systemic change” needed to tackle racism in Canada’s police forces. Singh urged the federal government to end racial profiling, carding and street-checks. He also suggested that some police funding should be reallocated to mental health services, health workers and local communities. View this post on Instagram Again the PM said he would act, but people can’t wait The government must commit - immediately - to concrete changes to end systemic racism in the RCMP: - Review use of force - Review of $10 million/day RCMP budget - Fund a healthcare response instead of a police response Le PM a encore déclaré qu'il agirait, mais les gens ne peuvent pas attendre Le gouvernement doit s'engager - immédiatement - à apporter des changements concrets pour mettre fin au racisme systémique dans la GRC : - Réexaminer le recours à la force - Financer une réponse santé plutôt qu'une réponse policière - Révision du budget de la GRC de 10 millions $ par jour A post shared by Jagmeet Singh (@jagmeetsingh) on Jun 18, 2020 at 8:06pm PDT Mississauga’s Mayor, Bonnie Crombie, also tweeted about the death of Ejaz Choudry, urging the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to “act quickly.” “Our goal is to support the vulnerable and ensure these incidents never happen again,” she said. “The 2021 @PeelPolice budget will be reviewed through a different lens,” Crombie added. It’s very sad when a life is lost in our community. My heart goes out to his family. I ask the SIU to act quickly. Our goal is to support the vulnerable and ensure these incidents never happen again. The 2021 @PeelPolice budget will be reviewed through a different lens.— Bonnie Crombie 🇨🇦 (@BonnieCrombie) June 21, 2020 The SIU continues to investigate the incident on June 20. Six investigators and three forensic investigators are working on the case. *This article's cover image is for illustrative purposes only.
