They didn’t want this investigation. Today, Abdi’s family relives his death every day

Abdirahman Abdi The investigation is broadcast live during the day here.

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As Abdirahman Abdi lay handcuffed outside his apartment building, his family members watched in horror from the other side of the lobby window.

His mother, who died last July, watched as police crouched near the body of the 38-year-old Somali-Canadian and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

The youngest of them also saw the scene, “desperately trying to explain Abdirahman’s mental health problems to the police”, the family shared in a statement read at an ongoing coroner’s inquest.

The mandatory investigation, launched on November 18 and now in its final days, is examining the circumstances of Abdi’s death. A five-person jury, after hearing testimony from more than 20 witnesses, will consider and possibly recommend ways to prevent deaths like his in the future.

Abdi’s mental health deteriorated in the months leading up to July 2016, when he died a day after the violent arrest by police. His family was broken apart after his death in hospital, according to his statement.

Abdi’s father and one of Abdi’s six siblings returned to Ethiopia. They did not return to Canada.

Abdi never met his daughter born seven months after his death.

“Even though we have to continue living our daily lives, it will never be the same,” the family said.

They now face the worst moments of their lives every day, including graphic testimony last week from the pathologist who reviewed Abdi’s autopsy results and unprecedented details of his treatment for mental illness.

“The medical evidence, the psychiatric evidence, going through all the details of what happened that day eight years ago, has been extremely difficult for the family and that’s why they don’t didn’t want to have this investigation,” said the family’s lawyer, Lawrence. Greenspon, told CBC this week.

An “untenable” situation

That tension emerged last week after Greenspon asked an inquest witness, Ontario’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Michael Polannen, whether he would support a recommendation requiring the Office of the Chief Coroner to investigations within three years if there are no criminal charges involved.

Greenspon’s question sparked a debate outside the presence of the jury and Polannen.

Dr David Eden, chairman of the inquiry, questioned whether the topic was outside the scope of the inquiry. The jury did not hear testimony about what is involved in organizing an investigation, Eden added.

The investigation returned to the docket, and Greenspon asked Polannen if he saw any problems with setting “some sort of time limit” on when investigations should begin. This caused another pause in which Eden again wondered if Greenspon was moving out of sight.

“The families, what they are going through as a result of this investigation that is taking place eight years after Mr. Abdi’s death is very much within the scope of this investigation,” Greenspon said with frustration. “And if not here, then where?”

Greenspon added that the current situation is “untenable,” even bordering on an “unjust procedure.”

WATCH / The death of Abdirahman Abdi: Here’s what you need to know:

Work on waiting times

Eight and a half years is not the longest wait for a coroner’s inquest in Ontario in 2024.

Last July, an inquest was held in Toronto into the prison death of Jeffrey Munro. He died in 2009.

Recently in Ottawa, the investigation into the death of construction worker Olivier Bruneau took place in 2022, six years after his death.

Eden was asked about wait times in 2016. That year, a jury considered the death of miner Stephen Perry, which occurred more than four years earlier.

Eden explained that investigations cannot take place until all criminal and Work Health and Safety Act charges have been brought to court, which can take years.

“This is a matter over which we at the coroner’s office have no control,” Eden said at the time.

As investigating lawyer Alessandra Hollands pointed out last week during the debate on Greenspon’s issue, a criminal trial has taken place regarding Abdi’s death. One of the police officers involved was charged, then acquitted, of involuntary manslaughter during a lengthy and delayed trial reserved for judges.

Abdi’s family filed a lawsuit in 2018 against Ottawa police. The case was settled in late 2020, shortly after the trial concluded.

In an emailed statement, the Office of the Chief Cororer, which is leading the investigations, said it recognized the wait had been “unacceptably long” in recent years.

This is due in part, according to the office, to a three-fold increase in the number of mandatory investigations, “continued pressure on the resources of our criminal justice partners who perform investigative work, and compounded by the COVID pandemic -19 which restricts in-person visits.” investigations.”

The office’s goal is to reduce caseloads to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025 and, shortly thereafter, to be able to complete investigations within two years of death in typical cases “where there are no other unavoidable causes of delay”. “.

Faded witness memories

Besides waiting, the Abdi inquest reflected another effect of Ontario’s busy system of coroner’s inquests: relying on witnesses’ memories of things far in the past.

The inquest’s findings, including potential jury recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths in the future, are based largely on witness testimony.

But some key witnesses in the Abdi inquest have admitted to struggling to remember things, given how much time has passed.

Former Ottawa officer David Weir was the first officer to deal with Abdi on the day of his arrest, and one of the key questions explored in the investigation was how much information about the Abdi’s mental health status the officers had and whether a different approach could have been taken. been taken with him.

Weir was asked at one point in his testimony whether it was helpful for officers responding to calls to receive information about someone hearing voices or having other suspected mental health issues.

“This is key information that I would have liked to have received,” he said, adding: “I really wish I could remember everything that was said to me in the (minutes) that he took me to drive (to the stage).”

Michael Rowe, a civilian who intervened after Abdi assaulted people in a cafe on the morning of his arrest, relied, like other witnesses, in part on statements made in 2016 for his testimony to the inquest. He said it was a mental and emotional burden to see them again.

He added that it was possible that the eight-year time gap affected his ability to remember details.

“It’s something I’ve tried to forget since the trial five and a half years ago,” he said.

Weir and Rowe both said they would support another recommendation calling for investigations to be conducted closer to the incidents they are examining. Rowe said a quicker investigation would help him provide the best evidence to the jury and it would be “a more humane approach to dealing with those affected by this event.”

Those watching the all-virtual inquest into Abdi say it’s difficult for them, too.

“I know this investigation will be difficult for everyone: the community, the Abdi family and our members who will now have to be reminded of this difficult event,” said the president of the Ottawa Police Association, Matthew Cox, before the investigation.

Abdirizak Mohamud, a member of a local Somali parent support group, said the inquest, now in its fourth week of testimony, has been “deeply traumatic for our community.”

The investigation continues Thursday, with only two witnesses remaining.