Press conference on Imam Luqman's assassination by the FBI. From left to right: Ron Scott, John Conyers, Dawud Walid and Attorney Nabih Ayad. (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe)
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Justice Dept. investigating fatal shooting of imam by FBI
PAUL EGAN
The Detroit News
Detroit-- The U.S. Justice Department is conducting what it calls a routine investigation into the FBI shooting death of Imam Luqman Ameein in Dearborn, but the development was hailed by those calling for a probe into the October incident. U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, who had called for the investigation along with a coalition of civil rights groups, announced at a news conference today the investigation was under way.
"On the surface, someone being shot 21 times raises quite a few questions in the criminal justice system," said Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington, confirmed the investigation but said it would have been conducted regardless of a request by Conyers or anyone else.
"The FBI's inspection division conducted a review," Miyar said. "The civil rights division has received the FBI's report and is now conducting an independent review of the shooting."
An autopsy report released Monday showed Abdullah was shot 21 times and said the medical examiner found his dead body handcuffed inside a trailer when he arrived at the Dearborn warehouse that was the scene of the shooting.
"On the surface, someone being shot 21 times raises quite a few questions in the criminal justice system," said Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
The FBI said it was investigating a radical and violent separatist group and was about to make arrests in connection with a sting operation into alleged fencing of stolen goods when Abdullah opened fire, killing an FBI dog and bringing return fire from agents at the warehouse.
But Abayomi Azikiwe of the Michigan Emergency Committee against War and Injustice called Abdullah's death a "targeted assassination."
Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, said Monday the autopsy report is only one piece of information in the case and asked the public to reserve judgment until all the facts are in.
The Dearborn Police Department is conducting an investigation, and the FBI has completed an internal investigation of the shooting that has not been made public.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group filed Freedom of Information Act requests Monday seeking more information about the raid on the Dearborn warehouse, including any FBI video of the incident. Since the FBI controlled the warehouse as part of its sting operation, it is likely the shooting was captured on video, Walid said.
Conyers and others also expressed concern about an incident the night of Oct. 28 when they say Detroit police entered Abdullah's mosque at prayer time with guns drawn.
Nabih Ayad, who represents Abdullah's wife, Amina, as well as a defendant in the federal indictment handed down in the Abdullah case, said using a dog to confront a Muslim creates an environment for hostility because dogs are seen as unclean.
"Why did they have to gun him down 21 times?" Ayad asked.
Amina Abdullah said the autopsy report caused her great pain. "I don't eat; I don't sleep," she said.
Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality said he is concerned federal grants to local law enforcement to create multi-jurisdictional task forces are creating "what amounts to a national police force."
pegan@detnews.com">pegan@detnews.com (313) 222-2069
February 2, 2010 http://detnews.com/article/20100202/METRO01/2020354
Detroit imam's autopsy report raises ire
He was shot 21 times in FBI raid; critics call action unjustified
GEORGE HUNTER AND DOUG GUTHRIE
The Detroit News
Dearborn -- An autopsy report released Monday prompted renewed calls for an independent federal investigation into the death of a local mosque leader during an FBI raid in October.
Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was shot 21 times during a raid on a Dearborn warehouse, according to the report. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.
Abayomi Azikiwe of the Michigan Emergency Committee against War and Injustice called Abdullah's death "a targeted assassination."
"Whoever was responsible should be criminally prosecuted," said Azikiwe, who joined a protest at Dearborn Police headquarters Monday. "After they shot him, they dumped him in a trailer like a dog."
FBI agents have said they were justified in shooting Abdullah because he opened fire during their raid on a stolen-goods operation.
Agents said an FBI dog was killed, prompting them to return fire. Only four of the more than 20 agents at the scene fired shots, said a person familiar with the investigation.
But some claim the FBI unfairly targeted Abdullah, and the shooting wasn't justified -- allegations U.S. Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers mentioned in a Jan. 13 letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
"These concerns are only inflamed when the special agent in charge of the Detroit FBI office asserts -- before investigation has been completed -- that 'I'm comfortable with what our agents did,' " Conyers, D-Detroit, wrote.
The autopsy found Abdullah was hit 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.
Dawud Walid, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan, said his organization is requesting copies of the autopsy photographs and has hired an independent pathologist to review the findings. He said the group also wants to see the results of a necropsy on the dog, to confirm it was killed by bullets from a nonpolice weapon, as investigators have said.
"The results we have seen so far are disturbing, and we are going to be investigating more," Walid said. "Three shots in the genital area, and the broken jaw, and a bullet in the back: We don't know how he would have gotten that.
"If he is killed instantly, why is his body found with his hands handcuffed behind his back?"
Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said Monday, "This is only one piece of information in this case. We ask that before people make a decision, they wait until all the facts come out."
A federal indictment alleged Abdullah led a radical separatist mosque and stolen goods ring.
Wayne County Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Schmidt concluded in his autopsy that Abdullah had several abrasions on his hands, although Schmidt said he could not confirm whether the wounds were caused by a dog.
"At some point his back was turned," Schmidt said. "Whether that means someone meant to shoot him in the back or not, I couldn't say. He must have been slightly turned to the left (at the time of the shooting)."
Schmidt said his probe could not determine whether Abdullah was shot while lying down.
The county's medical examiners routinely testify that they use police reports about circumstances and investigators' observations in helping them arrive at their conclusions. But Schmidt said Monday his office received no information from law enforcement sources to aid in the autopsy's findings.
The autopsy didn't detail the types or sizes of 13 bullets removed from Abdullah's body. There were no gunpowder burns on the body, indicating the fatal shots weren't fired from point blank range.
Schmidt said his medical tests didn't include checking whether there was gunpowder residue on the victim's hands. "That would be something the police would do," he said.
Although Abdullah was not shot in the head, he suffered cuts and abrasions on his face, and a fracture of the bone behind his upper lip. A tooth fragment and broken denture were received with the body.
Posted: 12:13 p.m. Feb. 2, 2010 | Updated: 2:39 p.m. today
Imam's autopsy report stuns widow
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The widow of a Detroit imam shot to death by FBI agents said today that she was appalled to learn her husband died from 21 gunshot wounds.
“It’s really hard and it’s really painful for me,” Amina Abdullah, 36, said of the autopsy report detailing the death of Luqman Ameen Abdullah. “I was shocked. I was almost going to faint. I couldn’t eat, and I couldn’t sleep.”
Amina Abdullah was married 10 years to the imam, said her attorney Nabih Ayad. Ayad also said the government is not trying to deport her to Tanzania.
“She’s concerned about going back home,” Ayad said.
Amina Abdullah appeared at a news conference this morning in Detroit with U.S. Rep John Conyers, who is calling for an independent investigation into the imam’s Oct. 28 death in a Dearborn warehouse.
Ayad told reporters he would also like a second autopsy done because he is concerned about reports of lacerations to Abdullah’s hands and wonders if an FBI dog bit him before he fired back.
The autopsy report was completed in November, but it was not released until Monday at the request of the Dearborn Police Department, which is investigating the incident.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said he filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn whether there is any FBI video of the incident. Walid said he has a hunch that video exists since agents hand controlled the warehouse as part of its undercover investigation.
Conyers said he asked Attorney General Eric Holder to have the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division look into the Oct. 28 incident.
“All we want is simple fairness,” Conyers said, adding that he is concerned that the autopsy report took so long to be released. “On the surface, someone being shot 21 times raises quite a few questions in the criminal justice system. It also may involve the hate crimes law.”
According to the autopsy report, when an investigator from the Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the scene of the shooting on Oct. 28, the body of Abdullah, 53, was found on the floor of a semi-trailer full of flat-screen TVs with his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
The FBI told the investigator that when "officers arrived, officers asked to see his hands, and they informed him that if he didn't comply, they were going to send a dog in." Agents said they opened fire after Abdullah shot the dog.
Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the Detroit FBI office, has said agents acted appropriately in the two-year investigation of Abdullah and during the raid. Agents sought to arrest the cleric and 10 other people on suspicion of dealing in stolen goods.
Posted: Saturday, 30 January 2010 6:30PM
WWJ Radio 95 in Detroit
Group Pushes For Investigation Of Imam's Death
A civil rights group on Saturday reiterated its call for an independent investigation into the death of a Muslim prayer leader killed during an FBI raid in October following reports he was shot 21 times.
Dearborn police have scheduled a news conference for Monday to release autopsy results in Luqman Ameen Abdullah's death, however a Detroit television station WJBK-TV and the Detroit Free Press both reported details about the autopsy from sources they didn't identify.
WJBK-TV, citing a source close to the investigation, reported Friday that an autopsy found Abdullah, 53, was shot in the chest, abdomen, thigh and back during the Oct. 28 raid. The Detroit Free Press, citing a person familiar with the case, also reported Saturday the imam was shot 21 times.
Both WJBK-TV and the Free Press said Abdullah was handcuffed, but the Free Press' source said the handcuffing apparently occurred after the shooting and was in line with procedure. One shot struck Abdullah in the back, the Free Press said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it wants an independent investigation. Dawud Walid, executive director of the group's Michigan chapter, knew Abdullah and said the reported autopsy details raise "disturbing questions.''
"How was the imam shot in the back?'' Walid asked in a statement. "Was it proper procedure to handcuff either a dead body or a mortally wounded suspect? If the agents found the imam alive following the shooting, did they call for medical assistance? All these questions need answers.''
CAIR's Michigan chapter plans to have an independent forensic pathologist review the autopsy report after it is released.
FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold told The Associated Press on Saturday that she couldn't comment on the reports.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said no one was available to discuss the reports until Monday.
A message seeking comment was left Saturday with Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad.
On Saturday, Haddad told the Free Press that the news conference will not end the investigation.
"Our responsibility to the community is to ensure that we investigate this incident to obtain an accurate accounting of what occurred,'' Haddad said. "It is complex, and once completed we can move forward.''
The FBI has said that Abdullah was fatally shot while resisting arrest and firing a gun inside a Dearborn warehouse. He was the imam, or prayer leader, of a neighborhood mosque in Detroit.
The FBI wanted Abdullah on charges of weapons violations and conspiracy to sell stolen goods. He was described as a leader of a national radical Sunni group that wants to create an Islamic state within the U.S.
Abdullah's family has denied the allegations.
Eleven people have been indicted on federal charges in the FBI's investigation of Abdullah. Ten of the 11 are charged with conspiring to possess and sell stolen goods, from computers to furs.
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