Protesters in Ottawa marched on the city's police station on Saturday to voice their outrage over the death of a Somali-Canadian man, who passed away on July 24 after a violent arrest by the police.
Ottawa police officials told The Globe and Mail newspaper on Friday that officers responded to multiple 911 calls regarding “multiple assaults” at a local coffee shop. After trying to make an arrest, police say they chased Abdirahman Abdi on foot to a nearby apartment building, where a "confrontation" occurred.
Witnesses told local media that the police used excessive force while arresting Abdi, who is 37-years-old and suffers from mental illness.
Emotional video of the aftermath of the arrest shows Abdi handcuffed and bleeding on the ground while neighbors moan and shout.
Abdi, who is a member of Ottawa's Somali-Muslim community, was brought to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.
The death of Abdirahman Abdi a black, mentally ill man exposes societal cracks we fear will turn into fault lines pic.twitter.com/iKoMIBbDmu
— Judy Trinh (@JudyTrinhCBC) July 28, 2016
Several hundred marchers are out on Somerset #AbdirahmanAbdi pic.twitter.com/n9k8D2d1hJ
— Idil Mussa (@idilmussa) July 30, 2016
Ottawa's Somali-Muslim community appears furious over the incident. During Saturday's protest, Amran Ali, a member of the Canadian Somali Mothers Association, told police officers that they were "white supremacists."
Two Ottawa police officers, Daniel Montsion and Dave Weir, are being investigated by the Ontario police for their possible role in Abdi's death.
-Hunter Stuart
