An investigation into the October 2009 FBI shooting death of a Muslim Imam in Dearborn, Michigan, has entered its fifth month. A coroner’s report which revealed that Luqman Ameen Abdullah (photo above) died flat on the floor of a semi-trailer with his hands cuffed behind his back, after being shot twenty-one times by FBI Agents during a stolen property raid last October 28, has ignited accusations of use of excessive force. Abdullah’s supporters voiced the complaints. The FBI says Abdullah opened fire first.
I can confidently tell you that the Department of Justice and the Dearborn police are treading slowly and carefully on this one, folks. The population of Dearborn includes some 40,000 Muslims. It is known as Hezbollah City, U.S.A. Dearborn’s Police Chief announced today that he expects the federal report sometime next week and that his department will issue its summary to the State Attorney General sometime next month. Following that, the A.G.’s office will determine whether any criminal charges are to be filed.
“DEARBORN — The Dearborn Police Department expects to wrap up its investigation into the Oct. 28 shooting death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah sometime next month, according to Chief Ronald Haddad.
“We’re still waiting for a report from the (U.S. Department of Justice),” Haddad said. “I hope to have it on my desk by the end of the week.”
The police department will take approximately three weeks to review the DOJ’s information before submitting its report to the state Attorney General’s Office, Haddad said. The AG will then decide whether to pursue any possible charges against FBI agents involved in the raid.
“We’re conducting an investigation into the shooting incident,” Haddad said. “Reviewing the DOJ report will allow us to look as some of the tactical and technical issues that has been brought up during the course of our investigation.”
The DOJ report is expected to shed new light on allegations of excessive force made by Abdullah’s supporters, who say the slain imam was gunned down during a federal raid at a Dearborn warehouse last fall and left to die on the floor of a semi-trailer full of flat-screen TVs with his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
FBI agents have said they were justified in shooting Abdullah because he had opened fire on the agents during a raid on a stolen-goods operation. An FBI dog was killed during the incident.
An autopsy released Feb. 1 found Abdullah was shot 21 times — twice in the chest, four times in the abdomen, twice in the groin, four times in the left hip and side, seven times in the left thigh, once in the scrotum and once in the back.
Wayne County Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt said Abdullah, 53, died instantly…”
From my own experience as a career cop I can tell you that it takes a matter of only a few seconds to empty an entire magazine of ammunition. Once the shooting begins, the object is to fire as many shots as necessary, as quickly as possible, to neutralize the threat. With even just a few agents firing their weapons, the number of shots into Abdullah’s body does not surprise me and should not in and of itself constitute use of excessive force. The facts of the investigation will tell the story much more completely than we now know it. It will also be very interesting to see if any law enforcement officials are criminally charged as sacrificial lambs in the interest of keeping the peace among the Dearborn Muslim population. This story bears continued watching.
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