Ottawa’s Somali Centre for Family Services hosted a news conference to talk about a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the city’s police force against five of its officers.
Betrayed, profoundly disturbed and deeply concerned — those are just some of the words members of Ottawa’s Somali community are using to describe their reaction to allegations that the city’s police force secretly surveilled five Black officers.
Elders, mothers, youth and other community members and supporters gathered at the Somali Centre for Family Services (SCFS) Thursday to express their concerns and their condemnation of the Ottawa Police Service (OPS).
“We are deeply shocked and troubled by the alleged discriminatory surveillance and harassment of Somali officers and their families,” said Bille Abdalla, youth development manager at SCFS.
CBC was first to report on the $2.5-million lawsuit against OPS by five officers of Somali descent. The lawsuit alleges some of the officers’ family members …