Abdirahman Abdi coroner's inquest
The Ottawa police officer acquitted of manslaughter in the death of Abdirahman Abdi gave his first public account of the arrest, faced tough questions about his actions — and offered a message of condolence during the fifth day of an inquest into Abdi's death in 2016.The coroner's inquest into the 2016 death of Abdirahman Abdi, who died a day after his violent altercation with Ottawa police officer Daniel Montsion, heard from Montsion on Friday.
Abdi was a 38-year-old Somali-Canadian who struggled with his mental health. He came on officers' radar on July 24, 2016, because he'd groped women in or near a Hintonburg coffee shop that morning, the inquest has heard. Montsion was working overtime that day, having volunteered to help the force's short-staffed patrol unit. His vehicle's computer was rebooting so the only information he got was over the radio: that there was a disturbance at a coffee shop involving pushing, shoving and a possible sexual assault.
This still, taken from video submitted and released during Montsion's trial, shows Abdi, left, and former constable David Weir, right, as Montsion arrived on the scene. "I received no guidance, but I don't believe they cause more damage" than regular gloves, Montsion said.Montsion said he has undergone regular use-of-force training, but at that time the policy did not call for a specific approach to people in crisis. Nor are a person's mental health issues taken into account when deciding whether to use force in the first place, he added.Montsion said he did not think Abdi's being Black had any impact on his approach that day.
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