Mississauga, Ontario, July 29: A Peel Regional Police officer has been disciplined after admitting she accidentally left her loaded service firearm and duty belt unattended in a clothing store change room at Square One Shopping Centre, an incident that prompted both an internal investigation and criminal proceedings.
Constable Zahra Yusufzay, 31, of Brampton, accepted responsibility under a Police Services Act disciplinary agreement and has been penalized by the loss of 120 hours of pay.
She is also scheduled to appear in court in August in connection with a charge of unsafe storage of a firearm.
Incident Occurred During Lunch Break
According to the disciplinary decision, the incident occurred in December 2024 while Yusufzay was working in a plain-clothes assignment at Square One Shopping Centre.
During her lunch break, she entered a Mango clothing store to try on work pants.
While using a fitting room, she removed her police duty belt, which contained her loaded service pistol, spare magazine and handcuffs.
Phone Call Interrupted Shopping
The disciplinary agreement states that Yusufzay received a telephone call from a fellow officer requesting translation assistance while she was shopping.
After taking the call, she left the fitting room and walked back to her police vehicle without realizing she had left her duty belt behind.
The equipment remained unattended until it was discovered by an employee of the clothing store.
The employee immediately reported the firearm, and Peel Regional Police responded to recover the weapon, treating the incident as a significant public safety concern.
Internal Investigation Followed
Following recovery of the firearm, the matter was referred to the Peel Regional Police Internal Affairs Division.
In March 2025, Yusufzay was arrested and charged with unsafe storage of a firearm.
The criminal charge remains before the courts and has not been proven. Like all accused persons, Yusufzay is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Disciplinary Penalty
As part of the police disciplinary proceedings, Yusufzay admitted misconduct under the Police Services Act.
The disciplinary decision states that her conduct undermined, or was likely to undermine, public confidence in policing.
The agreement also notes that the officer was “very apologetic” and accepted responsibility for the mistake.
Her disciplinary penalty consists of a forfeiture of 120 hours of pay, one of the more significant financial sanctions available under the police disciplinary process.
Public Safety Reminder
Police officers are required to maintain strict control over their firearms and other issued equipment at all times.
The accidental loss or unattended storage of a loaded service weapon is treated seriously because of the potential risk to public safety if the firearm were accessed by an unauthorized person.
In this case, the firearm was recovered without injury or misuse after being discovered by a store employee.
Court Proceedings Continue
The internal disciplinary matter has now been resolved through the Police Services Act process.
However, the related criminal charge will proceed separately through the courts, where Yusufzay is expected to appear in August.
The outcome of the criminal proceedings remains to be determined, and no findings of guilt have been made.