Ottawa Police Accused of Illegal Surveillance and Racial Discrimination Against Somali Officers

A $2.5 million lawsuit claims that the Ottawa Police Service engaged in unlawful wiretapping and surveillance of five Somali officers, including their families. It alleges systemic racism and discriminatory practices against its own personnel. Filed in September 2023, the lawsuit asserts that the OPS obtained wiretap orders and overarching warrants based on “racist and stereotypical beliefs about Black individuals of Somali descent,” thereby violating the officers’ and their families’ Charter rights.

As initially reported by CBC, the filing states that the OPS “has garnered a reputation, both within and outside of the department, as an organization plagued by racism and bias, particularly when dealing with the very communities it swore to protect.” The officers, it further articulates, “were intentionally recruited to mend the tarnished image of the OPS.” The document reads, “Instead of receiving support, the officers found themselves ostracized, subjected to racial slurs, and their private lives invaded as the OPS abused its authority to undermine their credibility.” This action, the lawsuit maintains, reinforces the very prejudices the hiring of these officers was supposed to rectify.

The plaintiffs, identified as constables Liban Farah, Mohamed Islam, Abdullahi Ahmed, Ahmedkador Ali, and Feisal Bila Houssein, state they were brought onboard partly to bridge the gap between the police and racialized communities. Contrary to expectations, they faced backlash for standing against racial injustice. Their efforts included preparing a report aimed at improving the OPS’s practices in marginalized areas and confronting colleagues who shared racist content online.

The lawsuit contends, “The wiretaps and warrants were issued due to their race, Somali heritage, and their advocacy for fellow officers and community members.” The plaintiffs suspect that the affidavits submitted by the OPS to secure these authorizations omitted crucial background information that might have informed the issuing judges of the unjustified nature of the surveillance. The wiretap records remain sealed, leaving the plaintiffs in the dark regarding the reasons behind a judge’s approval.

All five officers are Canadian citizens who were actively recruited to join the force. The lawsuit claims that each of these officers boasts “excellent” performance ratings; nevertheless, the OPS’s invasive surveillance has unduly tarnished their reputations. “The career growth of the officer plaintiffs has been thwarted,” the lawsuit states, adding that “their standing within the community has been irreparably harmed.”

Farah, who joined the force in 2013, has served in various patrol divisions and currently works as a detective in the drug investigations unit. “Farah grew up in Ottawa’s low-income neighborhoods after his family immigrated in 1986. He earned his diploma in Police Foundations from Algonquin College and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University,” the lawsuit highlights, noting he is also the first in his family to attain a tertiary education.

Islam, hired in 2016, immigrated to Canada as a teenager during the Somali civil war. Before joining the OPS, he worked as a social worker. The lawsuit indicates that the force has frequently enlisted his skills to defuse tensions between the police and racialized communities. His original application faced rejection until a higher authority overruled it, leading to an internal uproar, later sparking discontent among some OPS members who deemed his recruitment a politically motivated decision.

Ahmed, also a 2013 hire, moved to Canada with his family in 1990 and has since contributed to shaping new recruit training and enhancing the force’s outreach to diverse populations. Ali, who joined in 2018, has been recognized as an “ambassador” for the force, advocating for vulnerable victims, while Houssein, the most recent recruit in 2019, bravely intervened in a serious stabbing incident in 2022, saving a life.

Farah and Islam are first cousins, with numerous other first cousins involved in criminal activities, which the officers disclosed during their roles in the guns and gangs unit. Despite their efforts to clarify their limited connections to these relatives, Islam claims he faced intrusive questioning on the tribal culture allegedly fueling youth violence in Ottawa, which he found deeply offensive.

In April 2020, a meme mocking the OPS circulated widely, depicting mostly racialized men and insinuating their positions were not earned based on merit. Notably, Farah’s face was included prominently in this disparaging image. The lawsuit suggests further retaliation against Farah for challenging similar racist content that emerged during protests against systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death.

Marking a troubling pattern, the lawsuit articulates that the surveillance activities became common knowledge within the OPS. Officers encountered bizarre behavior from their colleagues post-surveillance, with some senior members making jarring comments about their ‘privacy’ and the implications of wiretaps. The scope of the surveillance has tainted the officers’ career paths; for instance, Ahmed was honored for his promotion to the homicide unit only to subsequently be pushed out for unexamined reasons, while a white colleague resumed his position.

In late 2021, the officers and their families received formal notifications about the wiretaps dating back to April of that year. Several family members included in the lawsuit felt victimized merely for their ties to the officers, reporting a loss of faith in the police and a sense of vulnerability due to the misuse of power by the OPS.

The lawsuit frames the wiretapping as a violation of the officers’ Charter rights, highlighting that the motivations behind it stemmed from discriminatory stereotypes linked to their race and Somali heritage. It also claims that the police service infringed upon the plaintiffs’ rights to personal liberty and safety, undermining fundamental principles of justice. As of now, these allegations await judicial examination.