Abdi coalition calls for review of police use of force
The Justice for Abdirahman Coalition is calling for a review of the Ottawa Police Service’s use-of-force policies and an assurance that police will receive more training for situations dealing with mental distress.
In a statement Tuesday, the group said it welcomed the decision by the Special Investigations Unit to lay a manslaughter charge against Const. Daniel Montsion in the death last July of Abdirahman Abdi.
But while the SIU’s decision is an important milestone, it’s not the end of the journey, the group said.
“We are encouraged by this step and we know that much more can be done. We call for a complete and thorough review of OPS policy regarding the use of force, as well as ensuring that every frontline officer has the proper training for dealing with situations involving mental distress. Most importantly, it is now time for OPS and the city to make good on the promises made over the past few months, and to take the necessary and concrete steps to rebuild trust.”
Justice for Abdirahman formed only days after Abdi’s death. The group has a core of 21 members including those with backgrounds in policy and program management, education, mental health, public relations, criminal justice, community development and corporate governance. There are about 20 additional members.
Members have met twice with Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau, and also with other senior members of the force, said coalition co-chair Farhia Ahmed.
Ahmed said she has seen an appetite for change on the part of the police service, but there has been nothing concrete so far when it comes to use of force and mental health training.
“They said they were considering this in the operations. It won’t happen overnight.”
Clearly, police sometimes need to use force, but there have been too many instances of excessive use of force, Ahmed said. Justice for Abdirahman is looking for changes and improvements to police training.
“When there’s a mental health concern, often it’s not evident. There are ways to deal with certain situations that will give police more confidence and more options. There is training that would provide options for officers. In very challenging situations, instead of assuming the situation is violent, there are ways to go about de-escalation.”
She would also like to see the police force leverage local resources such as expertise at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and at community health centres.
“We’re not identifying ourselves as experts. But there are many stakeholders that are ready to help,” she said.
A provincial review of the use-of-force model is currently being conducted by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Ottawa police have several training programs to instruct officers how to deal with people in mental distress, including de-escalation training, implemented in January 2014.
“This training was delivered to all officers as part of their use of force training. De-escalation techniques continue to be part of the annual training,” said Ottawa police spokesman Const. Chuck Benoit.
The service’s mental health unit also delivers a two-day course for frontline officers twice a year.
“This course has been recently revamped. It includes several speakers from community agencies and hospitals who work with people with mental health issues,” Benoit said.
“The goal is to increase the number of officers to this course.”
He added that all police officers receive training in dealing with people in distress as part of their Ontario Police College training, and that training is enhanced by the Ottawa police mental health unit.
Justice for Abdirahman also wants the Ottawa police to take the step of conducting a third-party audit of its diversity practices, much in the same way the force did a review of gender and family status in its workforce.
The gender audit was part of a settlement when Const. Barbara Sjaarda filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in 2012. Details of the audit, released last November, found that female officers’ careers suffer when they have children, that they are less likely to be promoted, and that they experience sexism in the workplace.