- Edmond Yu
Edmond Wai-Hong Yu (
October 2 ,1961 -February 20 ,1997 ) was a former medical student whose death at the hands of theToronto Police Service sparked debates about thepolice 'suse of force ,mental illness , and the treatment of those diagnosed with amental illness .When young he won the
Hong Kong city boxing championship.He attended
York University from 1982 to 1984, studyingpre-medicine .In 1984 he was accepted as a medical student at the
University of Toronto .In 1985 the police arrested Yu and took him to the
Clark Institute of Psychiatry , where he was diagnosed with paranoidschizophrenia .On February 20, 1997 Edmond Yu allegedly assaulted a woman at a bus stop, then boarded a bus. Police attempted to board the bus, then Yu, according to witnesses, raised a small (perhaps toy) hammer. Constable Lou Pasquino fired six shots, hitting Yu three times.
An official inquest in 1998-1999 cleared the police of wrongdoing and resulted in a number of recommendations. The inquest concluded, "'Housing is a mental health issue and the absence of decent housing is a major determinant of health." [http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/content/about_mental_illness/homelessness.asp?cID=3975]
A foundation to fund "a housing project for
homeless men with mental health problems" has been set up in Edmond Yu's name. There have been a number of other memorials to Yu, such as The Edmond Yu House, which claims to be "a low-stress, high support, and non-medical organization for psychiatric survivors of the Mental Health System who also experience homelessness and would be considered 'hard to house' people," and The Edmond Yu Project.David Hawkins made a documentary on Yu, "
The Life and Death of Edmond Yu ", and Laura Sky made a documentary as well, "Crisis Call". [http://www.yorku.ca/ylife/2006/01-30/Crisiscall01202006.htm]External links
* [http://johnb.smugmug.com/gallery/1223709 9th Annual Edmond Yu Memorial]
* [http://www.thestar.com/videoGallery/default?movieURL=http://media.thestar.com/video/YuMemorial640x360flx.flv&movieRatio=normal&id=1 10th Annual Edmond Yu Memorial]References
Ann Curry-Stevens, "An Educator's Guide for Changing the World : Methods, Models and Materials for Anti-oppression and Social Justice Workshops" (Centre for Social Justice), p.29
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