‘We were left traumatized’
Pleas for better police training blend with tears at funeral of Somali Canadian
Calls for better community police training were mixed with tears today as family, friends and members of Ottawa’s tight-knitted Muslim community memorialized a Somali-Canadian man who died after a confrontation with police last Sunday.
There were also cries for justice from amongst the overflow of mourners at the funeral service for 37-year-old Abdirahman Abdi, who was taken down by police officers on a sidewalk following a disturbance call.
Community leaders including Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Ontario cabinet minister Bob Chiarelli urged patience as the province’s Special Investigations Unit examined the circumstances of Abdi’s death.
Ottawa’s main mosque, with a capacity of 2,000 people, was overflowing for the service with dozens of mourners forced to kneel and pray on the sidewalk in front of the building.
Naeem Malik, president of the Ottawa Muslim Association, said the community turned out in solidarity.
“The family needs our support because they are not only Somali, they are Muslim,” he said. “So we are here with them.”
The body was brought into the mosque in a plain plywood box shrouded in a green blanket adorned with golden Arabic lettering.
Initial reactions to the death were shock and horror, Mohamed Sofa said Friday in a statement on behalf of the Ottawa Somali community.
“We were left traumatized, left to make sense of such senseless violence.
“The pain is real, it is felt deeply and by many.
“This last week, we have seen tears shed, and emotions expressed. People shared stories of Abdirahman’s kind nature and gentleness of his soul,” the statement said.