Ottawa police chief addresses mistaken arrest of Orleans man
It's been more than a month since an Orleans man was chased, shocked with a stun gun and beaten by Ottawa police officers in a case of mistaken identity.
Ahead of Monday's Ottawa Police Board Services Board meeting, Chief Eric Stubbs addressed the incident, citing 'deep regret'.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"Look there's no doubt this was an unfortunate set of circumstances where an innocent man was arrested," Stubbs said. "Our members thought they were confronting a homicide suspect they thought was armed and dangerous... We deeply regret this happened to Mr. Niyondagara."
Last week, CTV Ottawa spoke to 27-year-old Kane Niyondagara, who says he was chased, Tasered and violently arrested in February after being mistakenly identified as a wanted homicide suspect.
"The officer tackled me on the ground, he punched me on the right side of the eye and he also hit me on my body," he told CTV on March 19.
"There's no doubt we are extremely concerned that we had arrested someone who was not who we thought it was and we want to have a discussion on that," said Stubbs.
In the past, the Ottawa Police Service has said it is committed to improving relations with Black, Indigenous and racialized groups, but Robin Browne with advocacy group 613/819 Black Hub says it's not enough.
"The Ottawa police have to come up with a plan to reduce the disproportionate use of force against brown and Middle Eastern people," he said.
Data released by the Ottawa Police Service reveals Black and Middle Eastern residents were over-represented in police use of force incidents over the general population.
In 2022, officers used force against 284 people, with Black residents making up 25 percent of those incidents, despite representing only eight percent of Ottawa's population.
"We have made efforts to reach out in the past week and are shifting focus with his legal team," said Stubbs. "To the Burundi community, we have work to do to build a positive relationship to build more trust within the community."
Kane Niyondagara is looking for answers and an apology after he was mistakenly and violently arrested by an Ottawa police officer last month. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)
Niyondagara is still waiting for an apology and for a police response on a complaint he filed in early March. CTV News has learned he is now being represented by a lawyer who is in the early stages of discussion with the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service.
"The disturbing aspect of this event is that someone from the public made a false report to the Ottawa Police, which is suggestive of an endemic racial bias against visible minorities," said lawyer Anthony L.C. Mineault in an email to CTV News. "This person made a false report that an alleged person wanted for murder was exposing themselves in a quite public setting and un-masked fashion and this call should have been the subject of some form of validation before it was acted upon."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.