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.

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."