Police aren't a good public safety tool.

Many places are developing rapid response teams that aren't armed, and Ottawa needs to take this route. After Abdirahman Abdi was killed, I realized that unless I saw immediate, life-threatening danger, there was no way I could ethically call the police - because calling cops puts other people in immediate, life-threatening danger. So, that means I have no rapid response service available. I'm a tiny woman, so I often don't feel like I can bug people to quiet down or to deescalate something. I'm going to seek training on this, but I also think that I should have access to a professional, unarmed, and well-trained service, that I can call. And I know that as a white lady with a pretty safe life, this doesn't impact me as much as it impacts other people with less privilege than me. Ottawans deserve to live in a city that prioritizes meeting peoples' needs (for housing, food, safe injection sites...) and that develops alternatives to policing.