The coroner’s investigation into the death of a man from Eastern Ontario who was fatally shot by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in 2017 is considering what police knew before trying to arrest him.
Babak Saidi, 43, died in the OPP squad in Morrisburg, Ontario, on December 23, 2017, after arriving for his mandatory weekly check – a 2014 conviction.
The OPP has informed him that he has been arrested on new charges in connection with a knife incident that occurred just three days earlier.
A scuffle ensued, during which an officer fired several shots, killing Saidi.
After investigating the incident, provincial police concluded that there were no reasonable grounds to prosecute the police officer who shot Saidi.
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP Sgt. Dave Budzinski told the investigation that he was concerned about the December 20 knife incident and that if police informed Saidi that he was wanted on new charges, he could barricade his home or resist arrest.
The investigation heard that a woman Saidi allegedly ran up to her, cursing and brandishing a knife, when she dropped a leaflet in the mailbox on the alley of his country house on December 20.
Saidi held a knife to his throat through the driver’s side window, but did not break his skin, the investigation found.
Budzinski said during the investigation that Saidi was known to the police for being violent and fickle, and that this was under discussion while his arrest was being planned.
Budzinski said the OPP was considering arresting Saidi at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting he was supposed to attend, but when the plan failed, they decided to arrest him during his weekly check-in at the Morrisburg Squad.
Identified as “high risk”
The sergeant said he was not sure he would have made different decisions if he had seen the contents of the risk assessment prepared by the OPP’s threat and behavior analysis team in April 2017.
The report identified Saidi as “high risk” and included information about his substance use problems and diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, the investigation said.
Det. Sergeant William Gofton, manager of the Behavioral Analysis Team, told the investigation that the report was prepared using hundreds of police incident reviews and a preliminary psychiatric evaluation, as there was an ongoing application to declare Saidi a dangerous offender.
Gofton said he was unaware that the application had been dropped in May 2017.
OPP Sgt. Dave Budzinski told the investigation on Tuesday that police had decided to arrest Saidi during his weekly check in the Morrisburg squad in connection with a knife incident a few days earlier. (Angelina Wimet)
Gofton said the report may have helped plan the arrest, but much of the information already exists in police databases, including flags warning of gun ownership, unpredictable behavior and drug use.
From 2019, employees using the same record management software as OPP can see when a threat assessment has been performed on someone, but the written report is not available at their fingertips, Gofton said.
However, he said that employees receive contact information from the relevant employee with the behavior analysis team to help interpret past reports and avoid the use of outdated conclusions.
Earlier on Wednesday, Saidi’s sister Eli Saidi told the investigation that she wanted to remember her brother not only because of his mental health problems, but also as a kind and helpful person who would bake for his family and collect honey on his farm. to show them his gratitude.
She told the investigation that her younger brother had social and academic difficulties after the family left Iran as refugees in the 1980s, which led them to settle in Brockville. Ont.
The investigation continues on Thursday and is expected to deepen further planning for Saidi’s arrest.
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