Saturday January 14, 2017
Salt Lake City — (KUTV) A state public records committee ruled Thursday that body-cam video of the police shooting of a then 17-year-old refugee should be released. This goes against the wishes of Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. His office is prosecuting the case against Somali refugee Abdi Muhammad and he said the decision will be appealed.
"It's been almost a year. The public should be able to see for themselves what happened," said David Reymann, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
In addition to the body cam video, footage from surveillance video that also captured the footage of the February shooting near the Rio Grand homeless shelter
Outside the committee hearing, demonstrators shouted, "Justice for Abdi, justice for Abdi." They wanted the videos to be made public. Inside, the ruling agreed with demonstrators and the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU said the video and crime-scene photos are a way for the public to hold police accountable. The organization filed a government records request in May.
"The public has a right to know what happened in a critical incident like this one," said Reymann previously, who joined the ACLU in filing the request. "Utah's recently-passed body camera legislation makes quite clear that this type of footage should be made public upon request."
KUTV also filed a GRAMA request shortly after the shooting, but the request was denied. Former Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank has also called for the release of the video.
An investigation found the shooting was justified and charges were filed again Muhammad who survived the shooting. Six months after two Salt Lake City police officers fired on Mohamed, a civilian review board determined the shooting was “not within” the police department’s policy on the use of deadly force.
Lawyers for the DA said the videos may appear in court evidence in a case against Muhammad. Gill said he wants openness, but often evidence in a criminal case is withheld until trial.
The Feb. 27 shooting prompted riots in the area, with rocks thrown at police officers.
Police say Mohamed had been fighting with somebody else at the time while holding a broomstick or mop handle, when officers arrived at the scene and shot the teen multiple times.
Police said the teen was attacking someone with a metal object and wouldn't drop the weapon. Those close to Mohamed insisted he was wielding a broomstick and wasn't given a chance to even turn around before police shot him.
"He was so lucky. They missed his heart by an inch," said Mohamed's cousin, Muslima Weledi, shortly after the shooting.
Gill has 30 days to appeal.