The death of Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali-Canadian, occurred on July 24, 2016, in the neighbourhood of Hintonburg in Ottawa, Ontario.

[4][5] At approximately 9:30 a.m. on July 24, 2016, police were called to the Hintonburg Bridgehead coffee shop on the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Wellington Street West over allegations that Abdi was groping women there.

Duval, a witness who was present at the coffee shop since 9:15 a.m., said he saw a commotion and that the front doors were locked as a group outside restrained Abdi.

Duval asked the allegedly assaulted woman (who had been taken to the back of the shop) in French what had happened and she repeatedly said (translated) "He groped me.

"[8] Tracey Clark, the owner of Bridgehead who was not present during the incident, gave a statement on August 5 after speaking with staff and customers, describing Abdi as having harassed and assaulted multiple people in the shop.

Weir caught up to Abdi just outside the main entrance and shoved him from behind, forcing him to drop the weight and sending him crashing into the doors of his apartment complex.

However, they believed they were responding to a pepper spray incident and spent some time getting debriefed by the officers before approaching Abdi.

The SIU is required to investigate all reports of deaths, serious injuries, or sexual assaults in relation to provincial or municipal police officers.

[22] In late August, Black Lives Matter's Toronto chapter protested the SIU in Mississauga in response to Abdi's death.