'Don't hit him': Police alerted to Abdirahman Abdi's mental illness during encounter
Agreed statement of facts offers new details into events of July 24, 2016
The Abdirahman Abdi inquest is being livestreamed during the day here.
Several people warned Ottawa police that Abdirahman Abdi was mentally unstable on the day of officers' violent struggle with him, according to newly-disclosed details.
Abdi, a 38-year-old Somali-Canadian, died in hospital the next day, triggering a criminal trial against one of the officers — who was ultimately acquitted of manslaughter — a lawsuit settled soon after the trial, and now a weeks-long coroner's inquest that heard its second day of testimony on Tuesday.
Released during the inquest's launch on Monday, an agreed statement of facts offered additional insights into the circumstances surrounding Abdi's high-profile death in July 2016.
The two Ottawa police officers involved in the violent altercation with Abdi in front of his apartment building were initially responding to calls that Abdi had groped, touched or grabbed women in and around a coffee shop in Hintonburg.
One officer chased him to the apartment alcove and was then joined by the officer whose blows to Abdi's head became a major source of debate before and during the trial.
According to the inquest's agreed statement of facts, one apartment resident who came out of the building heard Abdi say "Help me" and told the first officer: "Please don't hit him, he's mental man. He's sick person. He's not – he's crazy man, he's not well."
She repeated this three times.
The second officer, wearing gloves with hard plastic knuckles, soon arrived and a melee ensued.
The woman was 12 feet away and heard Abdi crying, yelling and screaming during the altercation.
From his eighth-floor balcony, one of Abdi's brothers yelled down to the officers that Abdi was mentally ill "but the officers did not acknowledge him," according to the agreed statement of facts.
A passerby also heard Abdi yelling "help me" and told the officers that Abdi was mentally ill but "they continued their actions."
"Several people shouted at the officers to stop what they were doing and that Abdi was mentally ill."
The statement goes on to say that officers handcuffed Abdi while he lay face-down and put him into the "recovery position." Abdi lost consciousness before paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead in hospital the next day.
Inquest to hear from police
The inquest is not assigning any legal blame but is rather meant as a public deep dive into Abdi's death. Jurors are being asked to make recommendations for preventing similar fatalities.
The inquest's scope is wide and encompasses everything from police training on the handling of calls involving mental health to the "effectiveness and quality" of Ottawa police's internal reporting on incidents to its oversight board.
The officer found not-guilty of manslaughter is expected to testify during the inquest, as are other members of the Ottawa Police Service, including an officer who was involved in the force's internal investigation into the Abdi incident.
Following the officer's not-guilty verdict, the results of the internal investigation were expected to be publicly released by the Ottawa Police Services Board.
WATCH / The Abdirahman Abdi inquest has begun. Here's what you need to know:
Immediately after Abdi's death, the then-president of the Ottawa Police Association said that, in the moment, it wouldn't have mattered if the officers knew Abdi had any mental health issues
"It doesn't really in any way change the decision that you are going to have to make to ensure public safety," said Matthew Skof.
After the officer was acquitted, Skof called Abdi's death a tragedy no officer would want to see but that he believed if the same call was made, the police response would be the "exact same."
The officer's lawyer argued during the trial that it was "a violent and dynamic situation."
The trial judge wrote in his decision that the other officer questioned Abdi's mental health.
But the judge also echoed the defence's language, writing that "this was a dynamic interaction requiring quick decisions on the fly."
Abdi was physically resisting at the time of the blows he took on the the ground, according to the judge.
Off-duty paramedic concerned for Abdi's well-being
Tuesday's only inquest witness was Matthew Rousselle, a Renfrew County advanced care paramedic who was off duty on the day of Abdi's altercation with police. He only witnessed events before the officers fought with Abdi.
Rouselle, who also testified during the trial, said on Tuesday that he helped break up a group of men that had surrounded Abdi after the confusion inside the coffee shop. Some of the men were pushing Abdi around and Rousselle was concerned both for Abdi's safety and others, he said.
"It was getting quite aggressive very quickly and that never goes well," he said.
Abdi was not fighting back but instead trying to get people to shake his hand, which was "just making it worse. He was just making these guys way more agitated and way more angry."
Under cross-examination by a lawyer for Ottawa police, Rousselle agreed some people looked afraid of Abdi.
During her own cross-examination of Rousselle, Anita Szigeti, a lawyer for a group advocating for people struggling with mental health, thanked Rousselle "for caring for and doing the right thing to help Mr. Abdi."
The inquest is taking place entirely online, with questioners appearing on screen alongside the witness. All other participants, except presiding officer David Eden, are out of view.
The fact-finding process is expected to hear from 25 other witnesses and last through Dec. 16.
Monday's livestream of the inquest saw 486 unique viewers, according to Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner.
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