Abdi inquest: Arresting officer feared for his safety during deadly arrest, jurors hear

A former Ottawa police officer returned to the witness stand on Monday and provided further details of the moments before the violent and deadly arrest of Abdirahman Abdi on the fourth day of a coroner's inquest into the circumstances of his death.

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Const. David Weir was the first to arrive at the scene of a Bridgehead coffee shop on July 24, 2016. Throughout his testimony, which started on Wednesday and continued Thursday, Weir said there weren't enough officers for the call, that he didn't have a taser and that he feared for his safety.

During the call, Weir was also made aware that mental health issues with Abdi were considered.

Weir painted the picture of a chaotic scene when he and other officers arrived at the scene.

Police had responded to reports of a man groping several women. While trying to arrest Abdi, Weir testified that he needed to be medicated and handcuffed.

Weir says he was fearful for his safety because Abdi was not yet under arrest and his hands were flying around.

During cross examination, Weir was asked if he tried to deescalate the situation.

"I am not deescalating nor am I escalating, I am trying to make an arrest," he said.

An agreed statement of facts presented on Wednesday states a resident coming out of the apartment heard Abdi say "help me" to her.

She told Const. Weir, "Please don't hit him (Abdi), he's mental man. He's sick person. He's not – he's crazy man, he's not well." She repeated this three times.

It was during that arrest that another responding officer, Const. Daniel Montsion, struck Abdi several times in the head while wearing knuckle-plated gloves.

During testimony, Weir was asked whether access to a crisis intervention therapist would have helped.

"We didn't even have enough officers to go to this so I don't know where this therapist would have come from," he said.

Weir was also asked if there is systemic anti-black racism within the Ottawa Police Service. He denied this was the case.

Charges were never laid against Weir. Montsion was found not guilty of manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in June 2020.

The case also involved a lawsuit launched by Abdi's family against the Ottawa Police Services Board. It was settled in 2021, with the details remaining confidential.

The 21-day inquest is expected to continue Friday, with testimony expected from Montsion.