Abdirahman Abdi, an Ottawa resident, passed away under tragic circumstances. From what we learned from some witnesses and reporters, Mr. Abdi didn't seem to have an arm, a gun or any violent object in his possession. He died in front of his building, most likely looking for some help. That help didn't come. Instead, the police beat him and handcuffed him. His family that emigrated from Somalia, presumably to flee chaos and lawlessness, found themselves with the body of their loved ones laying in a pool of blood on the ground. Law and order are not necessarily synonymous with justice and peace.

Abdirahman was black, Somali and Muslim. Many people said that he suffers from some mental health issues. All the ingredients came together to make of him the "perfect" candidate for profiling, arrest and suspicion.

It is not a secret that there have been many incidents in Ottawa and Ontario in the past years related to the issue of race and profiling. In our strong desire to be seen as culturally different and more sensitive than the United States, we can't hastily dismiss that race is not an issue in Canada, and particularly in Ottawa. Last year, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association summarized the history of racial profiling and policing.

Police accountability has never been a strength on the federal, provincial and local levels. We are still lacking independent civil and bodies that would investigate the actions of law enforcement when such tragic incidents happen.

Despite the existence of some institutions like the Ontario Ombudsman, there is a lot to be achieved in that direction to entrench accountability in our system, especially in police forces. Even when race isn't involved, investigations about police forces are still shrouded in secrecy and the public isn't always provided with a full picture.