Abdi’s death shattered trust between police, community

With justice system in shambles, the whole city will be severely tested

The charges against a police officer in the death of Abdirahman Abdi are a big blow to the already-troubled Ottawa police and the ultimate outcome of the case has significant potential to worsen race relations in the city.

That’s why it’s so important for our municipal leaders to show some leadership and so disappointing that the first reaction of Mayor Jim Watson was to hide behind the “It’s before the courts” talking point. The chair of the police services board, Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, did only modestly better, issuing a written statement.

It was a poor start, and the biggest challenges lie ahead.

From the reaction at the time of Abdi’s death last summer, it is clear that many Ottawans believe his death was just one more tragic example of the way Ottawa police abuse black residents. Like it or not, this is a case that will be about race.

What is our community response to that? If our leaders believe that we do have a racist police force, they need to do something about it. If they don’t, they need to speak up. There is certainly more to this case than the simple equation of police officer white, victim black, equals racism. Const. Daniel Montsion was responding to a report that Abdi had sexually assaulted a woman in a coffee shop; he was not looking for random black people to arrest.

Let’s be fair to the other men and women in our police service and not judge them based on this one incident. They still have to go out and do their jobs every day. We can’t have them afraid to subdue a violent suspect. That’s a basic part of police work.

Clearly, something went tragically wrong during Abdi’s arrest. We have the judgment of the province’s Special Investigations Unit that Montsion’s actions were sufficiently negligent to justify a charge of manslaughter.

The community seemed to take that news pretty calmly Monday, but if Montsion is not convicted, there is going to be a lot of anger and his case comes at a time when the entire justice system is in a shambles. The first problem is the SIU. That organization’s decision to lay serious charges was gratifying for those who believe Montsion acted improperly, but the SIU’s track record in Ottawa is not reassuring. Since 1990, there have been 11 cases in which Ottawa Police Service officers faced charges. The only conviction was a 2015 case where an officer was charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He pleaded guilty to careless driving.

Some in police ranks certainly believe that the SIU is unwilling to make a politically difficult decision, such as clearing the officer involved in the Abdi case. As citizens, we should hope that’s not so, but this is a tough time for all elements of our criminal justice system. Due to inexplicable neglect by the provincial government, our courts have been plagued with resourcebased delays. The government is scrambling to catch up now, but seeing people accused of serious crimes walk free simply because the system couldn’t bring them to court in a timely way undermines people’s faith in the courts.

The credibility problems of the SIU and the courts will make it difficult for the community to accept an unpopular verdict, whatever it is.

There is no upside for anyone in this terrible mess. Abdirahman Abdi has paid the greatest price but Const. Montsion is now facing charges likely to ruin his career whether he is convicted or not.

Our collective response to this difficult case will be a test for our city and its leaders. It’s unfortunate that we have a mayor who avoids controversy like the plague and a police chief who seems to be constantly dealing with misconduct and morale issues in the force. They aren’t the bestplaced to handle this problem, but it’s their job all the same. The rest of us can help by not over-reacting. Let’s see what facts come out in court.