Deaths, Law Schools, Police

Federal Inquiry Requested After Police Officer Who Shot Law Student To Death Escapes Indictment

The Case Western Law community believes 'bias-based policing' may have been a factor in his death.

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Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri

Back in December, we reported on the death of Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri, 26, at the hands of a police officer. Alameri was an LL.M. student at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who obtained his 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. He was unarmed when he was shot.

Prior to his untimely death, Alameri had allegedly been driving “erratically” before he sideswiped another vehicle and flipped 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 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNGUCmVGyjY

Alameri’s death was ruled a homicide, but last month, a grand jury declined to indict Doran. Members of the Case Western Law community are now calling for a federal inquiry into Alameri’s death. Here are the details from Law.com:

More than 50 law students, faculty and staff from the Cleveland school signed a letter this month requesting that Justin Herdman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, open an investigation into the Dec. 4 death of Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri….

“The fact stands that the officer’s account of what happened is not independently corroborated, and the officer and his legal representation had at least 14 weeks to craft a story that explained the officer’s use of force through the lens of the evidence known to the public,” the letter reads. “And the officer’s narrative stands alone at this point because Saif himself can no longer contradict it and there are no images capturing what happened.”

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In the letter, Alameri’s classmates argue that Doran’s use of deadly force was “unreasonable,” “unprofessional,” and possibly based on “unreasonable fears and stereotypes.” The Case Western students, faculty, and staff members who signed the letter believe that Doran’s categorization of Alameri as someone with “dark” skin and a “Middle Eastern name” may have contributed to his decision to shoot first and ask questions later, noting that “[b]ias-based policing is in direct conflict with the rights of individuals protected by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of our Constitution.”

According to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Michael Tobin, their request for intervention will be reviewed, “just as we review all requests from the public.”

Following the grand jury’s decision not to issue an indictment, the United Arab Emirates embassy released a statement that it was “deeply disappointed” by the news. Case Western Law Professor Lewis Katz, who previously requested a federal investigation of Alameri’s death, said that while the entire incident “smacks of a civil rights violation,” he isn’t counting on anything coming of the numerous requests that have been lodged with the U.S. Attorney: “Even if [Herdman] were so inclined, I doubt that [U.S. Attorney General Jeff] Sessions and the Department of Justice would allow such an inquiry today.”

Alameri, who was described as a “sweet, generous kid,” did not need to be “threatened with deadly force like a dangerous criminal.” A federal inquiry certainly seems warranted in this situation, and it is our hope that U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman will give it due consideration.

(Flip to the next page to read the letter from Alameri’s classmates in full.)

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Fatal Shooting of Law Student by Cop Warrants Federal Inquiry, Say Profs and Classmates [Law.com]

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

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please 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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