Thread by @judyatrinh

A 911 call led Ottawa police enter wrong home while responding to a distress call about a potentially suicidal man. They entered the Ngoto home before dawn and left the family shaken. More context in this thread

Nadia Ngoto is a single mom of four sons who fled domestic violence years ago. They lived in shelters for years. She’s had bad experiences with police. Her teenage sons have been racially profiled and are often stopped by police.

But despite the odds Ngoto is a survivor. She now works at Harmony House the shelter that helped her. Her oldest son Ozzy volunteers there. Her kids are thriving at school, making their own computers. But now they feel violated again. They just moved here 2mths ago.

First @OttawaPolice say they announced themselves before they entered. The family of 5 and their 70yo roommate did not hear police until they were in the house. Police say they walked in an unlocked door. Their idea of announcement was knocking on a child’s window waking him up

Ozzy Ngoto, 21 , was awakened by the sound of footsteps on wood floors. When he opened his bedroom door he saw a police officer carrying a “big ass” long gun and several others in his living room. He thought police hit the wrong address for a drug bust

Mistaken raids happen more often than we know. google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.…
But police were there to respond out of concern, to keep a potentially suicidal man from harm. Which had Ozzy wondering -“How does all these officers de-escalate mental distress?”

The Ottawa Police say this wasn’t a dynamic entry. They say their tactical officers did not enter the house but arrived later to support patrol officers. Here’s an email exchange with OPS media relations. Despite having a mental health unit- they do not respond to emergency calls

Nadia Ngoto believes this call has the potential of going sideways. Her 11yo son was told not to move. What if her 21yo didn’t react calmly? Would someone be arrested? Someone hurt? These are legitimate fears of a family who have experienced racism. It’s also backed by stats

Most deadly police encounters involve mental health calls and disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous lives
newsinteractives.cbc.ca/fatalpoliceenc…

@OttawaPolice have now sent three officers (one Black male officer and two female officers) to visit the family and apologise for the mistaken 911 call. It’s unlikely they would do this if there wasn’t media attention on the story. Read it here: cbc.ca/news/canada/ot…

A mother of four Black boys.
Her reaction - after a mistaken mental health call sends police to her home.

“If any of us made the wrong move, we would have been the ones in trouble or dead”.cbc.ca/news/canada/ot…