Findings into violent arrest in Kitchener just as disturbing as incident: Lindo

Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo doesn't think it comes as a shock to the Black community, that officers involved in a violent arrest in Kitchener last summer were found to have acted "reasonable, appropriate and lawful" in two reviews.

But the overwhelming sentiment she expressed in response to the report is that the police oversight system is broken and fails Black communities.

"This disturbing incident is just as disturbing as the findings in the report," she said.

Last July, the arrest of Abdisalam Omer --- in a gas station parking lot at the corner of Victoria and Westmount --- was caught on video.

Lindo said Omer was known to officers, and was known to have mental health issues.

She said when it's deemed appropriate for as many as 15 officers to surround a Black person, with those things in mind, "we know the system isn't working."

"The fact that the processes don't work for Black, brown and Indigenous communities is what is actually found in this report," Lindo said.

"Because there is no way that I can go home and talk to my children, and tell them it's reasonable for somebody to call the police, and them to be surrounded by 15 armed police officers."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to sit with that, and that's me, who has a little bit more insight into how these systems operate."

She questioned how the youth who were at the scene last July are supposed to sit with the report's findings.

Lindo renewed a call for fully-independent investigations of police violence, with representatives from the Black community.

The two reviews in question: a use-of-force analysis from a retired Calgary Police officer, and a criminal investigation by Peel Regional Police.

Those reviews will be discussed during a Waterloo Regional Police Services Board meeting Wednesday morning.

Omer was thought to have a gun that night, based on reported gunfire, so police treated it like a high-risk situation.

However, the gunfire was later discovered to be fireworks, no weapon was found and Omer was charged with dangerous driving.

The charges against Omer were eventually withdrawn.

"It seems like it's two separate incidents," Lindo said, when comparing the two reviews to the report from the Crown Attorney.

She raised the issue on how the Peel investigation centred on five officers who pulled Omer from a police vehicle for a secondary search.

"The police, because they get to investigate themselves, decided 'you know what, we're just going to look at the five that pulled him out of the car and beat him, apparently, appropriately," Lindo said.

"I think that's the part, for us as racialized members of the community, is not surprising because the police are given the full allowance to decide and determine what the scope of their investigation is going to be.  And then even though it's not really independent, because it's other police officers investigating other police officers, they're allowed to call that independent."

"I think that's the piece that's critical to understanding the tensions between what happens when these investigations arise, and what happens in community."