Ottawa police chief defends hiring of Somali-Canadian constable
Mohamed Islam hired same day Abdirahman Abdi was pronounced dead after police confrontation
Ottawa's police chief is defending his decision to hire a Somali-Canadian man as a constable despite concerns about both the timing and the new officer's driving record.
Chief Charles Bordeleau made the decision to hire Mohamed Islam the same day that 37-year-old Abdirahman Abdi, another man from the city's Somali-Canadian community, was pronounced dead after what witnesses described as a violent confrontation with police.
"I can tell you unequivocally that the decision to hire this officer had nothing to do with Mr. Abdi's death," Bordeleau told CBC News Tuesday.
Islam, who did not speak to CBC Tuesday, was awarded a community safety award in 2013 for his work with local at-risk youth. At the time, he helped find young Ottawans jobs as part of the Somali Youth Support Project.
However, according to excerpts from a civilian background investigator's resignation letter published by Postmedia, the officer was hired for "political reasons" and his multiple convictions under the Highway Traffic Act, inconsistencies in his application, and previous negative interactions with police while being pulled over made him "unsuitable" for police work.
Abdi died on July 25, one day after his arrest following reports of a disturbance at a Bridgehead coffee shop on Wellington Street West and Fairmont Avenue. The Special Investigations Unit, Ontario's police watchdog, is now looking into the circumstances of that arrest.
'Not the deciding factor'
Bordeleau said Tuesday he was "extremely concerned and disappointed" that information about the new officer's background check had been leaked to the media, and he defended his decision to hire Islam.
"As people would know who have participated in the hiring process, it's a very long and extensive and rigorous process. It takes up to a year for you to get hired by a police service," Bordeleau said.
"That process involves several stages, including a number of interviews, psychological testing, physical testing, one-on-one interviews, and a background check. And that background check is only one component of the entire process. And that is not the deciding factor."
Bordeleau also said the July 25 hiring date involved the discussion of 19 potential candidates, not just Islam, and had been set two months before Abdi's death.
"He's a citizen of our great city who has worked very hard with youth, specifically Somali youth," said Bordeleau, citing his work with the police community advisory committee, local Somali-Canadian basketball leagues, and the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre.
"One of the challenges that we're having now as a police service is to bridge that gap and the trust issue between young black males in our community. And who better to bring in than somebody who's actually working in that field."
Candidate not yet officially hired
In an email sent Tuesday, the chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board wrote that any questions about Islam's qualifications and suitability are "premature" because only the board can officially appoint officers to the force.
And Islam has not yet been presented to the board as a candidate, Eli El-Chantiry wrote.
"The chief may select and recommend candidates to be hired as Ottawa police officers, but it is only the board that can appoint them. To date, this candidate has not been presented to the board for appointment.
"The board will have an opportunity to satisfy itself that the candidate is suitable to become an Ottawa police officer, if and when the chief presents him for appointment in the future."