One year after police Tasered his non-verbal son, father is still fighting for justice
Majd Darwich says his son Abdullah hasn't been the same since he was handcuffed and Tasered by Peel police one year ago.
Darwich says his son, who is non-verbal and autistic, can no longer go to the doctor, the barbershop, or restaurants. He says prior to the incident, Abdullah had such a shy and meek personality that he worried about him being bullied. Now, Abdullah is aggressive, afraid of strangers, and pushes his own family members.
"He is 20 years old now and we are getting older, so we can't handle this," Darwich said.
"It's created really big problems for us as a family, and I can just feel that he is still terrified."
Darwich says he feels hopeless after his complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) was recently resolved, with the office finding "that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that misconduct, as defined in the Police Services Act, occurred."
On Nov. 4, 2022, panic came over Darwich when he realized his then 19-year-old son Abdullah had wandered from his home. He immediately set out to find him, but only drove a few houses up the street before he encountered what he described as a large crime scene. His son, wearing only his underwear, was at the centre of it.
"He was shaking and his face was full of blood," Darwich recalled.
He says he is still fighting for justice for his son, but is also driven to hold police accountable so that others with intellectual disabilities don't have to experience what his family has gone through.
The incident sparked a review by Peel police. The force says it launched an autism strategy in May, and that it continues to work to identify other ways it can more effectively serve and engage the autistic community.
Report finds no misconduct occurred
According to the 64-page investigative report by the OIPRD, witnesses and a call to 911 reported a "half naked man" attempting to enter cars, backyards and houses, and eventually sitting in a pile of leaves, playing.
When an officer approached him, one civilian witness described Abdullah's behaviour as "passive with some minor resistance."
Officers who responded that day noted there was no verbal compliance when Abdullah was given commands, which led to Abdullah being Tasered at least four times and handcuffed. One officer stated he was concerned Abdullah was a danger to himself and others and there was an immediate need to apprehend him.
Body-worn camera recordings with time stamps show less than one minute passed between an officer asking Abdullah to lay on his stomach, and when the teen was first Tasered.
The documents state the officer continued to try to verbally engage with Abdullah, asking, "What did you take tonight," inferring the teenager was experiencing some type of "drug induced psychosis."
The OIPRD investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations, which included neglect of duty and unlawful exercise of authority.
When Darwich reflects on that evening, it's the look on his son's face that stands out most vividly.
"When I tried to hold him to relieve his pain, police prevented me. They said 'no stop, get away from him.' They dealt with him like an animal," he said.
Peel police response
Following the incident, Peel police said they launched a review of the circumstances that led officers to Taser the 19 year old. Abdullah was also on the force's Vulnerable Persons Registry, something his father had done in case a situation like this occurred.
In a statement to CBC News, Peel police said it could not speak to the case directly due to legal reasons. But it said in May, it launched an autism strategy in collaboration with a wide range of partners that serve the autistic community.
"As part of the strategy, we rolled out an autism online training to frontline members and have partnered with Kerry's Place Autism Services to provide more intensive sessions for an initial group of officers," the statement said, adding an internal support network has also been established for members who have loved ones who are autistic.
The statement also said a team has been formed to update and enhance the Vulnerable Persons Registry (VPR).
"This includes exploring opportunities to leverage the information more effectively when responding to calls for service. It is anticipated that an app-based VPR tool will be launched in 2024 to enable officers to more quickly identify individuals in the area who have a VPR profile."
Education is key, says Autism Canada
Bruce Petherick, an autistic advocate for Autism Canada said at the time that Abdullah's experience had a wide impact on the community. His message on how to stop incidents like this from happening again remains the same today.
"It's education, it's an awareness, and it's the normalization of autistic behaviour to be recognized as a spectrum," Petherick said.
"It's different from a typical person, but it's not wrong. So education is super important and that's realizing that autistics can present in many different ways, the knowledge of that is really important."
Petherick says the organization is hearing of fewer incidents of negative interactions between authorities and autistic people. He says it's Search and Rescue for Autism (SARA) program — which helps train people to recognize the cues when an autistic person is non verbal or sensory overloaded — has been undertaken by first responders across Canada.
He says the organization has reached out to Peel police, but hasn't heard back.
Darwich pursuing legal action
For Darwich, his fight isn't over. Despite the OIPRD report result, he says he is pursuing legal action against the force. He says justice for Abdullah is top of mind, but he's also driven to help protect other vulnerable people in the future.
"The most important thing to me is that vulnerable people can live peacefully in our communities," he said.
He also hopes Abdullah will return to his former self one day.
"I hope I get to see him like the way he was before soon," he said. "I just don't know when that will be."
