Mending relations still a goal 2 years after Abdirahman Abdi's death

It has been two years since the death ofAbdirahmanAbdi,and mending relations continues to be a focal point for Ottawa's Somali community and the police.

Abdi, a 37-year-old man,lost vital signsduring a violent altercation withpoliceoutside theentrance of his apartment building at 55 HildaSt.in Ottawa's Hintonburg neighbourhood on July 24, 2016.

He was officially pronounced dead in hospital the following day.

Const. Daniel Montsion is scheduled to face trial on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in Abdi's death starting in February.

"It opened a lot of people's eyes to see this happen here," said Ifrah Yusuf, a friend of Abdi's family.

"People don't think that can happen here in our backyard."

Coalition continues work

The Justice forAbdirahmanCoalition formed in the days after Abdi'sdeath to demand greater transparency from police, more support for people with mental health needsand tochallenge racial inequality.

Since its formation, the coalition has hosted a community conference on racism and justice and pushed for an independent third-party audit into the diversity of the Ottawa police force.

"Hopefully that pressure we applied does make a difference in trying to improve police relations," said Yusuf, who is a member of the coalition.

The group also lobbied for certain amendments to theOntario Special Investigations Act an act that newly elected Premier Doug Ford stopped from coming into effect.

Yusuf called the move disappointing.

Police outreach

After Abdi'sdeath, Ottawa police put together anoutreach group to engage with members of Ottawa'sSomali community.

The outreach teamspoketo more than1,000 residents in groups and individually, and used the feedback to build an action plan for what they call "bias-neutral policing."

The coalition was influential in building the actionplan, said OttawapoliceChiefCharles Bordeleau.

"We continue to work with that coalition, continue to build relationships of trust between thepolice service and the community, and with our multi-year action plan on dealing with some of the issues that they've identified," he said.

Recently the policerelauncheda new community equity counciland are recruiting people who reflect the city's diversity.

'Lasting legacy'

The Justice for AbdirahmanCoalition is hosting agatheringoutside of Abdi'sapartment on Tuesday night.

They plan to make an announcement that Yusuf said will preserve Abdi's memory.

"We've done this [gathering] last year, I don't see this at least for me being an annual event anymore, but hopefully with this announcement we will be able to leave a lasting legacy."

The gathering will begin at 7 p.m.