Family of Mississauga, Ont., man sues police, paramedics and SIU for $101M over his death
CBC
The family of a 28-year-old man killed by police west of Toronto has filed a lawsuit over his death, alleging negligence on the part of the force, local paramedics and the province's police watchdog.
Peel Regional Police shot Jamal Francique, a Black man, during an arrest attempt on Jan. 7, 2020. He died in hospital two days later.
The Special Investigations Unit —which investigates police conduct after a death, serious injury, sexual assault or the firing of a gun at someone —cleared officers of wrongdoing in Francique's death last year. Police were investigating Francique for allegedly dealing drugs and possessing a gun, the SIU said in its report.
Francique's family alleges police used excessive force against the young man.
"To the Peel Regional Police Services, Jamal was nothing more than an armed Black man trying to escape police apprehension," the suit filed last week alleges.
Peel Regional Police did not immediately provide comment. The Region of Peel, named in the lawsuit in relation to its paramedic service, said it would work with its insurer and legal counsel to address the claim. The SIU said it stood by its investigation.
On Jan. 7, 2020, several plainclothes officers and their unmarked cars gathered near Francique's home in Mississauga, Ont. They could not confirm if he had a gun or was dealing drugs, but decided to arrest him for allegedly breaching bail conditions, the SIU said.
The family's statement of claim said officers watched Francique leave home and walk 200 metres to his car in a nearby lot. Police did not make a move until he was driving his car, the claim said, and Francique was then hemmed in by police on foot and two unmarked cars.
The officers did not identify themselves as police, the claim alleges, and one officer fired four shots at the car, with one bullet hitting Francique's head.
The claim alleges Francique posed no threat to the officers who did not see a gun or weapon on him.
"Rather than retreat or disengage from the vehicle, (the) Subject Officer fired four shots in rapid succession into Jamal's vehicle, striking Jamal at least once in his head. Jamal was fatally wounded," the claim said.
"Considering all the circumstances, the use of lethal force against Jamal was excessive, unnecessary and unlawful."
The SIU report said officers believed Francique was an imminent threat, which the family's lawsuit questions.
The suit claims police have never fully explained why officers initially approached Francique "in such a hostile manner with unmarked vehicles and discharged weapons that would undoubtedly leave Jamal feeling confined, confused and fearing for his life and safety as a Black man confronted by white police officers."
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