MONTSION: NEXT STEPS
Ottawa police to assess conduct, policies
Ottawa police have ended the suspension of an Ottawa police officer acquitted in the death of 37-yearold Abdirahman Abdi, but Const. Daniel Montsion has not returned to work.
Chief Peter Sloly, in a general order sent to all officers late Thursday afternoon, ended Montsion's suspension. Former chief Charles Bordeleau had ordered his suspension in 2017 when the Special Investigations Unit charged Montsion criminally. Prior to the charges and after Abdi's death in 2016, Montsion had been assigned to desk duties and had not been on the road responding to 911 calls or doing his job as a Direct Action Response Team officer, which was at the time part of the service's anti-gang suppression efforts.
After any long suspension, an Ottawa police officer is typically subject to a “return-to-work” plan, which includes updating any mandatory training such as useof-force training. According to the written decision acquitting him of any criminal charges, Montsion, who was hired by OPS in 2008, last took use-of-force training in March 2016, four months before Abdi's death.
That process alone could take months.
There is also a 30-day period in which the Crown can appeal the acquittal decision, which police board chair Coun. Diane Deans cited this week when saying it was premature to discuss Montsion's legal fees.
Ottawa police will also have to undertake its own internal investigation after an SIU case. Colloquially called a “section 11,” under section 11(1) of Ontario Regulation 267/10 of the Police Services Act, that investigation must determine if the policies and standards of the Ottawa Police Service were adhered to at the time of Abdi's death. Internal investigators will also have to determine if the conduct of “involved police officers” was appropriate. All Ottawa police officers are expected, under the Police Services Act, to cooperate with that kind of an investigation. The investigation is expected to include an assessment of force-is
sued equipment.
In March 2017, the service began an internal audit of all force-approved gloves. The audit came after the SIU alleged that Montsion's black Oakley gloves, purchased by his supervisor and issued to his unit, were a weapon.
The audit asked officers to document the brand and model of the gloves, rationale for issue, unit to which they were issued, who approved the purchase, who purchased the gloves and whether they had hardened knuckles.
The gloves, according to the acquittal decision, have raised, rounded knuckles that are hard to the touch. No evidence was heard about what material they are made from.
In the end, Ontario Court Justice Robert Kelly ruled in his decision that he was left with a reasonable doubt “about whether (Montsion's) conduct showed a wanton or reckless disregard for Mr. Abdi's life or safety and whether it was a marked and substantial departure from the standard of the reasonable police officer in his circumstances.”
Since the Crown did not prove that an unlawful act occurred, the judge, therefore, did not rule whether the gloves met the definition of a weapon.
Police have yet to publicly detail the results of the glove audit or formally answer a related inquiry by the police board.
Also in March 2017, the board asked police to “provide policies and a report that outlines the equipment that officers wear … and how decisions are made regarding officer attire.”
At the time, former police chief Charles Bordeleau expected the glove audit report “in the coming weeks.”