SFPD Murders Another Black Man, Moves to Protect Killer Cop

ABU KASSIM JEILANI
executed by police
March 10, 2002

an injury to one is an injury to all! demand justice! no more racist killings by the mpls police department. march info here.

March for Justice for Abu Kassim Jeilani
Prosecute the Police/Remove the Police Chief!!!

Rally and March Saturday, March 23rd 1:00 pm

Rally at the Corner of Franklin Ave. and Chicago Ave.(site of killing) and march to City Hall.

Sponsored by the Somali Justice Advocacy Center Press Contact: Omar Jamal (651) 602-9912

Statement by the Somali Justice Advocacy Center:

When Abu Kassim Jeilani was killed by Minneapolis Police Officers on Sunday, March 10th, he left behind a grieving wife and two children. The sixteen bullets also stole his life from his community that has struggled so hard to make a life here in Minneapolis. The Somali-American community has had one of its sons unjustly killed and this sends a dangerous and frightening message to the entire communtiy. This is something that we experienced in the civil war in Somalia, and did not expect here in the United States, a nation of laws. We, the Justice Advocacy Center, demand a full investigation of the shooting by impartial investigators, immediate suspension and prosecution of the police and the removal of the police chief.

Only the unity and collective voice for justice of all people, from all ethnic and diverse backgrounds will bring justice, we ask you to join us in these demands.

Whatever happens to any one of us will happen to us all.

*************please distribute***************

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Minneapolis Somalis condemn police execution of Somali with *16* bullets
by TODD NELSON 7:53am Tue Mar 12 '02

Somali leaders in the Twin Cities expressed outrage Monday over the execution of a Somali, calling for the ouster of Police Chief Robert Olson. The police murder unleashed a torrent of raw emotions from Somali leaders, who called his death an "execution" and a "murder" and questioned the use of deadly force. Somali leaders questioned why police did not shoot to disable. Somalis offered to try to talk Jeilani, who spoke little English, into submitting but officers declined their help.

Joe Oden photo:
Community activist Chris Nisana speaks during a rally Monday after the police shooting death of a Somali man.
http://www.twincities.com/images/twincities/pioneerpress/2839/8061912978.jpg
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Somalis in Minneapolis condemn police shooting
BY TODD NELSON
Pioneer Press
March 12, 2002
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/2839864.htm

Somali leaders in the Twin Cities expressed outrage Monday over the shooting death of a Somali man by six Minneapolis police officers, calling for the ouster of Police Chief Robert Olson.

The Sunday shooting of 28-year-old Abu Kassim Jeilani, who was carrying a machete and crowbar that he did not put down as police surrounded him, unleashed a torrent of raw emotions from Somali leaders, who called his death an "execution" and a "murder" and questioned the use of deadly force on a man they said had suffered from mental illness.

Mayor R.T. Rybak, who met privately with 40 Somali representatives for two hours, said preliminary information suggested that police had followed guidelines. Asked whether the incident had affected his confidence in Olson, a grim-faced mayor replied, "I make no connection between this incident and the future of the police chief."

The shooting occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday near Chicago and Franklin avenues in South Minneapolis. Officers tried talking to Jeilani for 10 to 15 minutes and had followed him for 2½ blocks before they fired.

Officers had tried to persuade Jeilani to put down the machete and crowbar. Authorities said two officers specially trained to deal with mentally ill subjects each fired Taser weapons, designed to stun a person with an electronically charged dart. The darts knocked Jeilani to the ground, but he immediately got back to his feet each time. The officers began shooting their weapons when they believed he was charging them.

Each of the six officers fired at Jeilani, but authorities declined to say how many shots they fired and how many hit Jeilani.

Somali leaders questioned why police did not shoot to disable Jeilani, whose survivors include his wife and two young children. They also said that several Somalis offered to try to talk Jeilani, who spoke little English, into submitting but that officers declined their help. Police did not confirm that assertion.

The shooting, Somali leaders said, further undermines the poor relationship they said Somalis and other minorities have had with police in Minneapolis, believed to be home to the country's largest concentration of refugees from the decade-long civil war in the East African country of Somalia.

It also adds to the concerns of Somali immigrants who have been on edge since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which brought new fears of reprisals for Somali Muslims. Other recent developments — from the October death of a 66-year-old Somali man in what community members believe was a hate crime, to federal raids on Somali-run money-transfer agencies to last month's deportation of 10 Somalis from Minnesota for criminal convictions in this country — also have unnerved many Somalis.

"We as a Somali community in Minneapolis, after the civil war in Somalia, really think that this city has turned into a slaughterhouse for the immigrants, killing one after another," Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Immigration Center, said at a morning news conference that drew a diverse crowd of 100 people.

After meeting with Rybak, several leaders of Somali community assistance agencies said they appreciated reassurances the mayor offered to refugees. "We asked the mayor to protect the community from all these indignities … especially from the police and other authorities," said Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota.

Facing what may be the most divisive incident to hit the city since he took office in January, Rybak later held his own news conference to pledge that authorities would conduct a complete and independent investigation of the shooting. At several points, Rybak responded to questions by repeating the same answer: "I am not in a position to make a judgment at this point."

The six officers involved in the shooting have been put on three-day paid administrative leave, and the case has been turned over to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department for investigation. Both are standard procedures in fatal shootings involving police. The investigation will also try to determine why the Tasers did not immobilize Jeilani.

Rybak declined to make specific statements about tensions between police and minority groups in Minneapolis, though he added that "it isn't any secret that I have raised issues of concern about community relations and the police."

Besides taking their concerns to City Hall, Somali leaders also voiced their objections over the shooting to U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger at a meeting previously scheduled to discuss the deportations. Heffelfinger declined to comment on the shooting because it could be investigated as a federal civil rights matter.

Just a few hours before he died, Jeilani was praying at noon Sunday at Dar-alhijra Mosque on Cedar Avenue, said Hassan Mohamed, an advocate with the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis. Members read the Quran over him, an Islamic custom for someone who has been mentally ill.

Jeilani's brother had taken him to Hennepin County Medical Center on Jan. 23, after FBI agents reportedly went to Jeilani's home and suggested his family bring him to a crisis center, according to Hennepin County court documents. During the week before he was brought to the hospital, Jeilani said he was hearing voices and told everyone at a Somali center that he had an appointment with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Jeilani described the voices he heard by saying: "They talk in my body. Only God knows." He was diagnosed as psychotic and put on medication. On Feb. 2, he was released for 90 days from Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he had been transferred. He was instructed to take all his medications. "He was not dangerous," Mohamed said. "We cannot say he was fully recovered, but he was in the process of recovering. He was praying five times a day."

Hennepin County sheriff's spokeswoman Roseann Campagnoli said investigators want to speak with anyone who witnessed Sunday's incident. They are asked to call (612) 348-3755 and to request to speak to an investigator.

6 officers involved

Six Minneapolis police officers were involved in the shooting Sunday afternoon that resulted in the death of Abu Kassim Jeilani, 28. All six fired their weapons, a police spokeswoman said.

All are veteran officers with six to 14 years of service and all have clean "blue cards," which are reports of investigations for misconduct. The six officers were placed on three-day paid leaves, a standard practice in fatal shootings.

Officer James Jensen, a 13-year veteran and a member of the Crisis Intervention Team, is assigned to the department's downtown command. The other five officers are assigned to the 3rd Precinct in Southeast Minneapolis.

The other member of the Crisis Intervention Team is Officer Vicki Karnik, who also was the most experienced officer on the scene, with 14 years with the department.

The other officers were Cpl. Joel Kimmerle and officers Michael McCarthy, Hien Dinh and Justin Merten. Kimmerle is a 12-year veteran and McCarthy and Hien Dinh have been officers for six years.

— David Hawley


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Staff writers David Hawley, Liz Kohman and Bill Gardner contributed to this report. Todd Nelson can be reached at tanelson [at] pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5575.
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http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/2839864.htm

Further proof that cops are terrorists and should be dealt with as such!

so all cops are terrorists? just like all muslims?

yes, all cops are terrorists unless they are actively working against police terrorism ... like that brave young recruit from oakland PD. unfortunately, only about 0.001% of all cops will ever give a fuck to do something about it, and the vast majority are proud to be the aggressive pieces of shit that they are.

Just curious, what color is the sky in your little world?

Another mental giant joins the chat.

The US Constitution grants no special priveleges to Mental Giants.....

The people of the USA are free....free to have an imperfect govt....free to say "screw your religion".....or free to say..."I am a Muslim.

No such freedoms will ever exist if the USA was to crumble....yep innocents will die....but less than if the USA wasnt around.