Abdirahman Isma Abdi is remembered as the “happiest and most entertaining” member of his family.
“He was always excited about life, engaging with and befriending everyone he met. He was close with his siblings, as well as his brother-in-law,” said Lawrence Greenspon, the lawyer representing Abdi’s family, reading a statement from his family on the first day of a coroner’s inquest into Abdi’s death.
Abdi, 38, died on July 25, 2016, one day after being arrested by Ottawa Police Service officers, who had responded to 911 calls about a man who was allegedly sexually assaulting women at a Hintonburg coffee shop.
An inquest into his death is mandatory under the Coroners Act, to examine the circumstances surrounding his death, as he died in police custody. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths.
Dr. David Eden, the presiding officer over the inquest, told the jury they can make recommendations that are reasonable, likely to work, and directed to a specific group or organization. The jurors are not in charge of finding legal responsibility.
“The fact that inquests don’t blame anyone doesn’t mean there isn’t blame to go around,” he said. “But an inquest doesn’t make a finding.”
Abdi’s violent arrest and death became a flashpoint for relations between Ottawa police and racialized communities, as well as how police interact with people in a mental health crisis.
Parties to the inquest include Abdi’s family, the Ottawa Police Service, the two OPS officers who responded on that day, and the Ottawa Police Services Board, as well as the Ottawa Black Mental Health Coalition, Black Action Defence Committee, Abdi’s psychiatric doctors, and the Empowerment Council.
The scope of the inquest will include Abdi’s interactions with police, his medical care, police use of force policies, anti-Black racism and more.
The inquest commenced with the family’s statement, offering a rare glimpse into Abdi’s personal life before moving to Canada, as well as his mental health struggles that developed later in life.
The family said Abdi was the fourth of seven children. He was born in Somalia and lived in a refugee camp near the Somalia-Kenya border, where he provided translation services due to his English language skills. He went to university and studied agriculture.
Abdi and his family moved to Nairobi, Kenya and Jijiga, Ethiopia, before settling in Ottawa in 2009. In 2015, Abdi went to Jijiga for about three months to get married, and returned to Canada later that year, when “he became silent and reclusive and began to experience mental health problems.”
Inquest lawyer Alessandra Hollands told the jury that Abdi’s mental health fluctuated until June 2016, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum illness. Supported by family, he received treatment both voluntarily and involuntarily at times, and was prescribed medication, which he didn’t always take.
On the morning of July 24, 2016, Abdi went for a walk in his Hintonburg neighbourhood and touched, groped and grabbed several women in and around a coffee shop, including one woman in a car at a nearby intersection and one woman with a child, the inquest heard.
The inquest heard witness testimony and recordings of multiple 911 calls, with callers saying Abdi was having mental health issues and “a hard time cognitively.”
Hollands said when police arrived, they attempted to arrest Abdi, but he fled back to his apartment building. Outside his home, officers took Abdi to the ground, handcuffed him, kicked him, and hit him with batons. He was cuffed behind his back and face down on the ground, gasping for air, until he fell unconscious.
When first responders took him to hospital, he was revived, but had suffered a non-survivable brain injury, and was pronounced dead the following day.
Dr. Darren Courtney, a bystander, was among those who called 911, and testified he was concerned for the safety of women and children in and around the coffee shop. He also said the thought crossed his mind, “about the colour of (Abdi’s) skin, how he might interact with police, but I dismissed the thought.”
Courtney, a psychiatric doctor, asked Abdi if he’d been hearing voices, and told the 911 dispatch Abdi was “unstable,” and agitated, but didn’t specifically say Abdi was in a mental health crisis.
The family’s statement said they haven’t been the same since they lost their brother, with some family members moving back to Somalia.
“Amina, our mother, lived the traumatic experience of witnessing how the police treated her son, and the youngest among us, Abdirizaq, watched the entire interaction from the balcony while desperately trying to explain Abdirahman’s mental health problems to the police,” the statement reads.
“Abdirahman had much to look forward to in his life, as he was expecting a baby girl, who was born approximately seven months after his death. Unfortunately, Abdirahaman was never able to meet his daughter, but his family has been a part of her life.”
Ontario’s civilian police watchdog charged Const. Daniel Montsion with manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Montsion was accused of using excessive force when he punched Abdi in the face, which prosecutors argued at trial contributed to Abdi’s death. He was acquitted of all charges.
Montsion is expected to testify in the inquest.
In 2021, Abdi’s family reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit against the OPS and the Ottawa Police Service Board.
The inquest is expected to last 21 days, hearing from approximately 25 witnesses.