Ottawa Police secretly wiretapped 5 Somali Officers, lawsuit alleges..

The Ottawa police secretly wiretapped five of its Somali officers and their family members for months, never laid any charges, and refuses to tell them why, alleges a $2.5-million lawsuit filed by the officers, In the suit against the Ottawa Police Services Board, filed last year and reported now for the first time exclusively by CBC, the officers allege they were subjected to racial discrimination…

‘Gang-affiliated’ cousins

The civil lawsuit was filed by constables Liban Farah, Mohamed Islam, Abdullahi Ahmed, Ahmedkador Ali and Feisal Bila Houssein. Farah’s wife and father, and Islam’s spouse — all plaintiffs in the case — also allege their personal communications were intercepted by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS).

The officers, some of whom have loose family connections to alleged criminals, say their relationships led to the illegal search and seizure of their most private communications. The officers allege the investigation left a lingering target on their backs, keeping them under a veil of suspicion by other officers.

The Ottawa Police Service Board denies the allegations made by the officers in its statement of defence. It denies the individual conduct and argues “that such instances, even if true, are irrelevant and do not establish a systemic practice by the OPS of abusing state power to intercept individuals based on race or ethnic origin.” The officers were “frustrated, shocked and devastated” by the discovery of the surveillance.

“They could not understand why the OPS had done this, and became anxious, confused and paranoid,” the lawsuit said. “The officer plaintiffs find it difficult to trust their fellow officers. They feel as if they have a target on their back and do not know who might be plotting against them.”