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
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.