Deaths, Law Schools, Police

Law Student Shot In Head, Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting

His death has been ruled a homicide.

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Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri

Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri

Throughout the past year, Above the Law has documented the fallout from several high-profile, police-involved shootings. As 2016 draws to a close, one more of these unfortunate incidents has occurred, and this time, a law student is dead. Compared to those that came before it, this shooting has received relatively little media attention.

Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri, 26, was an LL.M. student at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who had obtained a bachelor’s in law at the United Arab Emirates University. Alameri was shot and killed on December 4 following a traffic incident just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland.com has some scant details about what occurred:

The State Highway Patrol received a report of an erratic driver shortly before a car crashed on the turnpike. The driver then ran into the woods, police said.

A Hudson officer found the driver near an access road off Hudson Aurora Road. Shots were fired during an ensuing struggle, police said.

Alameri died at the scene, police said. The officer received treatment for minor injuries at Summa Akron City Hospital.

According to a more detailed account from the National Law Journal, Alameri was allegedly driving “erratically” on the Ohio Turnpike before sideswiping another vehicle and flipping his own car. Alameri then allegedly fled into the woods, where he was later found by Officer Ryan Doran.

This is the dash-cam video from Officer Doran’s vehicle. The five-minute video does not capture the shooting itself, which occurs off-camera, but includes the police officer shouting instructions to Alameri (“Stop, or I’ll shoot! Get down! I will shoot you! Get down on the fucking ground! Get down! Stop!”), followed by sounds of a brief struggle, six gun shots, and muffled moans of pain.

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https://youtu.be/gCZEiTzmk8k

Both the Ohio National Lawyers’ Guild and Black Lives Matter Cleveland have called for a thorough investigation of the killing, and have raised questions about whether the shooting was justified.

“Running from the police does not justify the use of deadly force,” said Jacqueline Greene, co-coordinator of the Ohio National Lawyers’ Guild.

Per The Daily, a student publication from Case Western, a gathering was held at the school for students who wished to come together after Alameri’s death to raise questions and voice concerns. Counseling services were made available to students. Law School Deans Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf issued the following statement:

Our entire school community is deeply saddened by this heartbreaking loss. We extend our deepest sympathies to Saif’s family and friends, and will provide support to his classmates and other students as they try to cope with this tragedy.

According to the medical examiner’s office, Alameri died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death has been ruled a homicide. No information has been released as to whether Alameri had a weapon, and the results of his toxicology test have not been made public. Officer Doran has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

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Alameri’s funeral was held this past Friday in Abu Dhabi.

UPDATE (1:30 p.m.): According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Alameri was unarmed: “Besides the officer’s weapon, BCI’s Crime Scene Unit did not find any other weapons. The incident is still under investigation to determine exactly what happened.”

Dash-Cam Video Captures Law Student Shot Dead By Cop [National Law Journal]
LLM student from United Arab Emirates killed [The Daily]
Medical examiner identifies man fatally shot by Hudson police officer [Cleveland.com]
Law Student From United Arab Emirates Killed by Police Officer, Investigators Say [National Law Journal]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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