Gurraj Malhi said that before her son was killed in 2018 by police in Shelby Township, she trustedlaw enforcement.
"I used to trust the policemen," Malhi of Sterling Heights told the Free Press. "Now, when I see any policeman, I don't trust in them anymore. ... They ruined my life. They ruined my son's life."
In herfirst extensive interview since her son, Kanwarbir Malhi, was killed with a single shot by a Shelby Township police officer, Gurraj Malhi spoke to the Free Press about the shooting, criticizing law enforcement for their account of what happened. The Free Press also spoke with Malhi's sister, Krisham Malhi, who said she tried to help before her brother was shot dead by police on Nov. 3, 2018, just after 1 a.m.
Malhi'smother wants justice, criticizing Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel for saying that Shelby Township police acted appropriately.
Nessel'sdecision was"a slap on our face," she said.
The death of Malhi, born to Sikh immigrants from India and Canada, has sparked concern from some civil rights and police reform advocates.
"It was an unjustified shooting," said theRev. W.J. Rideout of Our God's People Church inDetroit, who took part in protests last year in Shelby Township against thepolice chief,Robert Shelide, for his remarks against theBlack Lives Matter movement. "He didn't have a gun. You killed aninnocent person."
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The Malhi family saidpolice officers need to be better trained in how they respond to people with mental illness, like her unarmed son.
"They don't know how to handle those peoplewith mental illness," Malhi said. "There are a lot of nice policemen, but they need more training."
Last week, Nessel announced that she had cleared the officer who killed Malhi,Jason Zuk.
Zuk shotMalhi shortly after he had exited his mother's car parked in a lot outside what was then their apartmentin the Spring Hill complex. Police said he was driving in a stolen car — a claim strongly disputed by his mother, who said it was her car and one that he often drove.
"I know my son was innocent that day," she said.
Her account is disputed by police and Nessel.
"Our investigation showed that Mr. Malhi refused to comply with more than 70 loud verbal commands from the officers to show his hands," Nessel said in a statement she posted last week on YouTube. "He also turned toward the back seat, leading officers to believe he was retrieving something, then appeared to search in the console. The evidence showed that Mr. Malhifinally opened his door of his car and left the vehicle. He made a sudden movement toward the front area of his body, which led officers to believe he was reaching for a weapon."
Nessel said Zuk"acted with an honest and reasonable belief that he and other officers were in danger of death or great bodily harm."
Nessel released the statement on March 9 along with a 20-page report that explained why her office decided to close the case. The closure was approved by Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud andDanielle Hagaman-Clark, the division chief of criminal trials and appeals.
"This is not justice for us," Malhisaid. "... I thought she (Nessel) wasgoing to give thejustice to us. But no. She did not either. I'm very, very frustrated."
She also criticized state officials for not talking to herfor their report or even notifying them before it was released last week. She said she was not aware of the report until contacted by a Free Press reporter seeking comment.
Malhi said her family has been suffering since Kanwarbir'sdeath.
"We're not thesame anymore," she said."Our life is totally different. We used to laugh. ... We can't laugh anymore. ... Every day is a torture to me."
In a statement Tuesday to the Free Press, Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney said: "We respect Mrs. Malhi’s grief;however, we stand by our statement.”
In addition to the Malhi case, Shelby Township police have faced criticismover the past year after Shelide, the police chief, madeinflammatory remarks about Black Lives Matter supporters, drawing protests. The protests resulted in several arrests and charges that Detroit Will Breathe, a group fighting for police reform and against racism,has said infringeon their rights.
Mom disputes stolen car claim
Kanwarbir Malhi was living with his mother and was coping with mental health problems and some drug abuse, according to the report and his mother.
The report said he had "severe mood swings and was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder." Atoxicology report cited in Nessel's report showed that he had cocaine, morphine and an opioidin his blood at the time of the shooting.
On the first day of November 2018, Gurraj Malhi "called the police about her son possibly being missing," reads theAttorney General's Office's 20-page report released last week."Before the police arrived, she had found him in the basem*nt of the residence in an agitated state."
Gurraj Malhi told the Free Press that she had called the police because her son "was suicidal" and she wanted them to take him to the hospital.
Police then triedto communicate with KanwarbirMalhi.
"From the doorway of the bedroom officers attempted to make contact with Kanwarbir, who was under the covers and not responding to them calling out his name," the report said.
Malhi told the officers to get out and said they needed a warrant, according to the .
The police left. Later that night, Kanwarbirgot into a dispute with his mother over the use of her car, a 2005 Honda, according tothe report.At one point, Kanwarbir told his family that "if you call the police, they will never take me alive," according to theattorney general's report.
"He also mentioned 'suicide by police,'" according tothe report.
The next day, Friday, Nov. 2, "Gurraj Malhi filed a stolen vehicle complaint with the Shelby Township Police Department," the report said.
But Malhi strongly denies that she said the car was stolen.
According to her account, two police officers came to her home on Nov. 2 after she had called forhelp finding her son, who she saidhad not returned after going out the night before.She said one of the officerswas acting strange and was aggressively pushing her to say or write that Kanwarbirhad stolen her car.
"He was pushing me like: If you do this, then we can find your son fast," she said. "He wasn't very cooperative... he was very, very hyper.
"It wasn't stolen," she said."He always used to take my car. I did not tell them anything about my car. I just told them that it's my car, that's it. I did not say that he stole my car, or he took my car against my will, or anything. I did not."
Malhi says that police used the excuse of a car being stolen to justify their aggressive actions.
Malhi killed with 1 shot
According to theattorney general's report, here's how the shooting took place.
At about 1 a.m. Nov. 3, several hours after police had visited Gurraj Malhi, "Officer Joseph Wojcik of the Shelby Township Police Department was on routine patrol in the area of the Spring (Hill) Apartments," where the Malhi family lived.
Wojcik spotted the Honda thatKanwarbirMalhi was in,"confirmed the vehicle as stolen," and called for back-up in the parking lot where hehad parked near his home.
The report said Wojcik told Malhi to “'put his hands out of the window'and 'show his hands'multiple times in a loud tone."
"Over the next eight minutes loud verbal commands for Malhi to show his hands were continuously issued by Officer Wojcik and other officers that began arriving on the scene as backup," the report said.
At 1:05 am, Wojcik asks Malhi, "You got a gun?" according to the report. "Officers broadcast that Malhi said he had a gun and is not complying."
The report indicates that another officer said Malhi said he hada gun. But it was later confirmed by authorities that Malhi never had a gun and was unarmed, the report said.
At 1:08 a.m., Officer Zuk arrived and "Wojcik advises that he will put away the K-9 if Malhi complies."
Police said that after Malhi leavesthe vehicle,"he makes a sudden movement towards the front area of his body."
Zuk fired once.
"This shot hit Malhi in the upper chest neck area and he fell to the ground," the report said. He was taken to Troy Beaumont Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Nessel said Malhi'smovement justifies Zuk shooting him.
"Law enforcement officers have the same privilege of self-defense as anyone else," Nessel said."Shooting a gun in self-defense requires an honest and reasonable belief that a person is in danger of being killed or seriously injured. And if that person's belief is honest and reasonable, he can act immediately to defend himself."
The Police Officers Association of Michigan later gave Wojcik and Zukthe2019 Police Officer of the Year Award for their performance in Malhi's case, recognizing "your act of duty and valor ... exemplifying the finest traditions of the law enforcement profession."
"We are honored to have you both as recipients," the group said.
In a statement Tuesday to the Free Press,Deputy Chief Mark Coil said Nessel's report "is the third independent investigation surrounding this officer-involved shooting. The initial investigation was handled by the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department."
The Sheriff's Officethensent the matter over to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, which reviewed the case a second time, denying any criminal charges,Coil said.
"As for the allegation that Mrs. Malhi didn’t make a stolen vehicle report, I can confirm that a report was made," Coil said.
Sister recalls shooting
Malhi's family said that police should have de-escalated the situation instead of surrounding him with guns drawn. They also said he didn't act in a threatening manner when he left the vehicle.
"What I was confused about was in the same minutewhen they told him 'if you comply with us, we will take away the K-9,'that was the same minute that they shot him ... 20 to 30 seconds later," said Malhi's sister, Krisham Malhi.
Krisham Malhi said she went outside when the officers had surrounded her mother's car, trying to help.
"While this incident was going on, while they were surrounding him, I quickly ran outside to try to say something," KrishamMalhi said."And they said, 'This is a police zone only,' like I cannot say anything or do anything. They made me go back inside. They sent two people to bring me back inside."
She said police should have alerted them he was parked near their home and allowed him to return home without confronting him with guns drawn.
"I just don't get how they didn't take in the fact that he has mental issues," Krisham Malhi said. "He wasn't inhis right mind. They knew that, and yet they still decided to act the way they did."
"We just wanted him back, we wanted his life back to us," she said."That's why we called them. Why call the police when they're the enemies of the situation?We shouldn't have called them. I wish I didn't. I have so much regret even trusting them."
Gurraj Malhi said police should have just notified her they found his son instead of surrounding him.
"Why did they not come inside and tell me when he wasn't coming out of the car?... Let him sit in the car, and tell me, 'Hey, your son is here. And he's not coming out,'" she said."Don't they give them training? ... Or do they just like to play with people's lives? Innocent people's life."
GurrajMalhi said she is considering what to do next.
"If I have to go to (President Joe) Biden, I will go there," she said. "I will do whatever it takes. ... I won't let this happen to any other person, have other people suffer. No one deserves to suffer like this. Especially when you call them and ask them to help."
She said she suffered a heart attack in December because of stress over her son's death.
"Every single day I think about my son, every single moment," she said.
She and her husband emigratedfrom India to Canada and then came to Michigan after he got a job herethrough his company.
"Now, I'm like, why did we move toMichigan?" she said."Why we didn't stay in Canada? We were living there peacefully, very peacefully."
For now, she said she's relying on her faith to get by.
"I know God will give me justice," she said."I'm 100% sure I will get justice."
Contact Niraj Warikoo at nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Twitter @nwarikoo
