OPS use-of-force involving Middle Eastern residents up 28% from 2020

The number of Middle Eastern residents involved in Ottawa Police Service (OPS) use-of-force incidents has increased by 28 per cent compared to five years ago, new figures show.

Only a small fraction of OPS calls involve the use of force. In 2024, Ottawa police officers responded to about 223,000 calls for service. 

Out of those, officers displayed or used force in 251 incidents, or less than one per cent of the total calls, according to the latest annual report submitted to the Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB). Drawing but not firing a gun is an example of displayed use of force.

The number of use-of-force incidents in 2024 was the second lowest in the last five years:

But force continues to be disproportionately used against members of Ottawa's racialized communities.

Notably, the number of Middle-Eastern people in incidents went up from 50 in 2020 to 64 in 2024, an increase of 28 per cent. OPS began reporting on the perceived race of people involved in use-of-force incidents in 2020. 

"We hope the service continues to work proactively to address that," board chair Salim Fakirani said during OPSB's latest meeting Monday night. 

While the number of Black and Indigenous people was down in 2024 compared to 2020, they also continue to be overrepresented in use-of-force incidents too. 

The overall percentage of racialized people has remained quite consistent in the statistics, but "given that use-of-force incidents and use-of-force subjects have declined over the past few years, the actual number of subjects has also declined, both overall and within race categories," according to the report. 

'Needs to come down to zero'

On Monday, the OPSB heard from Robin Browne, co-lead of 613-819 Black Hub, a group seeking police reforms in the years after Abdirahman Abdi, a Black man struggling with mental health issues, died after a violent arrest by Ottawa police officers.

"We've got that number," Browne said of the fact that Black and Middle Eastern people remain more likely to be affected by use-of-force incidents. "It needs to come down to zero." 

Another response to the report came from Sahada Alolo, the former co-chair of OPS's community equity council, a group that works with the police service to provide insight on ways to improve relationships between police and racialized communities. 

"Even when statistical improvements are observed, they do not necessarily feel like success. No one should find themselves in a use-of-force situation, and no one should experience harm," she wrote. 

Alolo called on OPS to increase its investment in body-worn cameras as they provide "a more complete and transparent picture of police interactions."

The police service is currently planning to try out body-worn cameras on at least 50 officers before the end of 2025, the board heard Monday. 

Annual use-of-force training will increase to two days from one starting next year, the board also heard. 

New review panel staffed

The community equity council began looking for members of a new review panel last year. The panel is tasked with looking over use-of-force incidents and bringing recommendations to reduce the number of incidents.

The review panel was expected to begin its work in early 2025, the coroner's inquest into Abdi's death heard last year.

The council has selected members for the panel and those members have begun training and done some initial case reviews, according to the report. They will be meeting in the fall.

Members have already pointed to "not having any sort of video reference" as a challenge, Deputy Chief Steve Bell told the board. 

"One of the things that we believe they are very quickly going to come back with is a recommendation to adopt body-worn cameras to help [them with their] work," Bell added. 

CBC has asked the police service who the review panel members are. Alolo's response to the report indicates she is the review panel's co-chair.