Majd Darwich moved his household from Syria to Canada in 2016, hoping to discover a protected place for his son, who’s autistic and non-verbal. But he’s now considering leaving after his son was Tasered throughout an communication with Peel Regional Police per week in the past.
“I assumed after I got here to Canada that the police would shield and assist him if he ran away from my home. I by no means imagined that they’d do what they did,” Darwich stated in an interview with CP24.com.
The 65-year-old father is referring to an incident that occurred a number of blocks from their Mississauga dwelling final Friday that noticed Peel police use a Taser on his 19-year-old son, which left him injured and traumatized.
Darwich didn’t discover something amiss that day till he heard the sound of police sirens and cruisers passing by his dwelling. He went to test on his son, who he thought was in his room. Darwich discovered it empty. Worried, he searched the home, however he couldn’t discover him. When he checked the entrance door, which was often locked to forestall Abdullah from straying exterior, he discovered it unlocked.
Darwich knew one thing was incorrect. He stepped out and located a police scene 10 homes from their place. So, he acquired into his automobile and checked what was taking place.
What he noticed when he arrived, Darwich says, was one thing a father should not see.
His son Abdullah was on the bottom, his face bloodied and his fingers handcuffed behind his again.
“I felt like I (was going to) have a coronary heart assault,” he recounted.
Darwich stated when he checked out his son, he was pleading for assist.
“I felt that he needs me to hug him not less than as a result of he feels snug after I hug him,” he stated.
Darwich tried to get nearer to his son, however he stated law enforcement officials didn’t enable him.
“I could not as a result of they prevented him from touching him. It was very horrible,” he stated. “I do not suppose any father can stand with this case.”
Darwich says police advised him that his son fell and his accidents weren’t severe. He would shortly be taught that his son Abdullah was Tasered when he noticed probes faraway from his physique by paramedics.
Abdullah was taken to the hospital and was later launched to his father.
Abdullah Darwich waits at a hospital after being injured throughout an communication with Peel Regional Police. (Supplied)
“It was a horrible state of affairs,” Darwich stated, including that the incident left his son shocked and confused.
CP24 reached out to Peel police in regards to the incident. In a press release, they confirmed that they obtained a name for a suspicious particular person “in a state of undress, making an attempt to enter a automobile and a home.”
Police stated on the time, responding officers did not know the id of the particular person and their situation.
Officers tried to speak with the particular person “who gave the impression to be in misery,” however the person didn’t reply, police stated.
“The particular person was apprehended and brought to a hospital to obtain medical consideration and assist following the usage of a conductive vitality weapon (or a Taser),” police stated.
They added that the incident is being reviewed.
To perceive what led to the incident, Darwich says he returned to the scene a day later and spoke to neighbours about what they noticed.
The neighbours, he says, advised him that his son Abdullah was solely carrying shorts and was taking part in on a pile of leaves when police arrived. CTV News Toronto has obtained a video which seems to indicate Abdullah taking part in with leaves.
Abdullah Darwich is seen on this picture. (provided)
Darwich says others corroborated what police stated within the assertion, saying his son tried to interrupt right into a automobile.
While he thinks his son tried to open a automobile as a result of he was chilly, Darwich says what the police did was nonetheless unacceptable.
“They do not know something about autism,” he stated. “They simply deal with anyone in entrance of them as a felony, which could be very harmful.”
Darwich says his son is just 170 centimetres tall and believes police may have dealt with him with out utilizing a Taser.
He provides that Abdullah is listed in Peel police’s Vulnerable Persons’ Registry. According to the Peel police web site, the registry “permits the caregivers and/or mother and father of susceptible folks to submit important data that might be used by emergency companies throughout a disaster state of affairs.”
Among the data requested are a photograph of the person and “strategies of method if discovered.” That’s why Darwich is baffled about why police didn’t use the registry in the course of the incident. He says he requested the officers who visited the household a number of days later why they didn’t test the registry.
Police advised him they might not inform him why.
In one other assertion, Peel police confirmed Abdullah is within the registry.
“The registry is only effective if that known information is provided to us. For example: If we responded to the individuals address, or the caller provided the individuals name, or simply mentioned that it could be them, then the responding officers would be alerted to the specific vulnerabilities and how to address them. This was not the case in this incident,” police stated.
They additionally confirmed that its Divisional Mobilization Unit (DMU) attended the household’s dwelling “to supply assist.” They stated the DMU connects folks with fast assets “to enhance their high quality of life and cut back pointless police interactions.”
“Our DMU workforce has since met with the household and is collaborating with our group companions to make sure they’re correctly related,” police stated.
Every week after the incident, the household continues to be shaken. Darwich says he has observed some adjustments in his son.
Before, Abdullah was pleasant round folks, however now he’s distant and afraid, Darwich says.
“He could be very totally different,” he stated. “I hope he is not going to keep like that.”
As for his subsequent transfer, Darwich says he’s exploring submitting a criticism to carry these chargeable for the bodily and emotional accidents his son sustained.
“I’ve to boost my voice. I can’t depart it like that,” Darwich stated.
“This boy is crucial factor to me,” he added. “He wants me and he wants me to guard him.”