Police board hears of `distrust' as public has say

Police Chief Peter Sloly pledged to “think deeply” on a number of concerns raised by public delegations Monday as the Ottawa Police Services Board heard repeated calls to freeze the police draft budget and reallocate resources.

“More officers, more neighbourhood resource teams, more training — none of this reflects what public delegates have come to the table and asked for over these last months. We wonder if you've been listening,” said Erica Ifill, one of 41 delegates who registered to speak at the virtual meeting. “Nothing within this budget tells us the OPS is capable of moving forward with a plan that ensures community safety and well-being.”

The fractured relationship between police and minority communities, and the long history of violent interactions with police was a common thread as many of the delegates who registered to speak at Monday's finance and audit committee meeting invoked the names of Abdirahman Abdi, Anthony Aust and Greg Ritchie.

“We're tired of waiting,” Ifill said. “Defunding the police is not irresponsible and dangerous, it is necessary.”

Erin Leigh, executive director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, noted that while there were some positive investments in the draft budget to address domestic violence, “we want to ensure they are ongoing and do not rely on budget increases.”

“Almost 30 per cent of calls to police across Canada are for domestic violence,” Leigh said, but the resources dedicated to domestic violence in the OPS draft budget fall well short of that mark.

Others called on the board to freeze the budget at 2020 levels and reallocate the remaining funds — a $13.2 million increase — to other priorities, including a mental health strategy that includes a non-police response.

Leigh said the public was “invited to participate in a `fait accompli' budget” on Monday, a notion Police Services Board chair Diane Deans flatly denied.

“The board and police need to do what many other organizations do when they're trying to solve problems: examine policy practices, look at the budget and reallocate funds to achieve the best outcomes possible,” Leigh said. “Not doing so is dangerous for communities.”

Robin Browne gave “conditional” support to the budget on behalf of several Black activist groups, including 613-819 Black Hub.

“I'm not here to ask you to defund the police… yet,” Browne said, saying the group continues to support Sloly in his efforts in making “systemic change” within the Ottawa force.

“We look forward to being involved in the mental health strategy in every step of the way. The chief says cutting the budget would hamper his efforts, and we believe him,” Browne said. “We want to give him time for the next steps in the plan, however, we aren't willing to give him unlimited time. “We can't do that, because the relationship between the OPS and Ottawa's Black community is in crisis.”

Ifrah Yusuf, chair of the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition, which hosted a memorial in Aust's honour on the weekend, spoke about his death as “just one example we've seen of how police violence tears families apart and breaks hearts.”

The Social Planning Council of Ottawa was among several delegations to echo the demands set forth by the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition.

“We are asking to freeze the police budget at 2020 levels and redirect the projected increase in funds to mental health and social services for Black, Indigenous and racialized communities in Ottawa,” said Sophia Jacob.

Police handle more than 6,000 calls a year that are deemed to be mental health calls — most of them are handled “successfully,” Sloly noted Monday — while several delegates suggested handing those calls to other specialized agencies.

“Handing a key segment of calls over to community organizations will relieve an enormous amount of pressure on both the city and the OPS and allow them to refocus their efforts on internal reforms that are sorely needed,” said Nicholas Harrison, calling for funds to be reallocated to public health initiatives, social services and non-police alternatives for mental health crisis intervention.

Freezing the budget and reallocating $13.2 million in funds towards social services is “a simple and painless first step to address the urgent concerns of our community,” Harrison said, and noted both Toronto and Calgary have recently embarked on similar ventures.

Coun. Keith Egli said he heard “a lot of distrust, I heard genuine concern for the city and the residents, and I heard fear that there are a lot of good words being said by OPS and by the board but that there won't necessarily be follow-through actions.”