People pass a police officer in their car as they make their way along Elgin Street during a rally after an Ottawa police constable was found not guilty of manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection with the 2016 death of Abdirahman Abdi in Ottawa, on Oct. 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – A police officer who was found not guilty of manslaughter in the 2016 death of an Ottawa man is telling a coroner’s inquest that his goal was to “distract” Abdirahman Abdi with punches during the arrest.
Ottawa Police Const. Daniel Montsion is among those testifying at the inquest into Abdi’s death following his violent arrest.
The 38-year-old died in July 2016 after police responded to a 911 call reporting that a man was groping women outside a coffee shop in Ottawa’s Hintonburg neighbourhood.
The inquest has heard that Abdi appeared to be in a mental health crisis at the time.
Montsion was charged in the case with manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon and was found not guilty in 2020.
He told the coroner’s inquest today that deciding whether to use force during an arrest didn’t take into account a person’s mental health and that he was trying to control Abdi before taking him into custody.
Tina Hill, a lawyer for Abdi’s family, showed clips of a video of the arrest and asked Montsion how many punches he threw at the Somali Canadian man.
“You throw a punch at his head with the handcuffs in your right hand,” she said.
Montsion disputed that, saying he was trying to control Abdi’s left hand.
“My goal was to distract him with those punches,” he said.
The police officer also said he was sorry for Abdi’s family’s loss.
The inquest heard that Montsion wore special gloves intended to prevent injuries during the arrest, which had plastic covering on the knuckles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.
