The shooting took place on February 27, 2016, in Salt Lake City, near a Somali refugee shelter. As a result of the incident, the teenager was injured. Abdi Mohamed (Abdulahi Omar Mohamed) is a Somali refugee who came to the US with his family in 2004. He was 17 years old at the time of the incident. Witnesses claim that Mohamed was involved in a confrontation with an elderly man and was holding a broomstick (“Abdi Mohamed: Teen Shot,” 2016). The police officers who would later shoot him reacted to call for another incident. A friend of Mohamed claims that when the officer asked the teenager to throw the broom, he did not have time to react to the demand, and the police opened fire (“Abdi Mohamed: Teen Shot,” 2016). However, the police refused to release video footage from police body cameras until January 2017.
Two police officers Kory Checketts and Jordan Winegard, were involved in the incident. As can be seen in the video footage, which the police later released to the public, two police officers arrived at the scene. They soon spotted Mohamed and his friend and ran in their direction. The teenagers were armed with metal sticks, so the policeman raised his weapon and asked Mohamed to stop and drop the broomstick (The Salt Lake City Tribune, 2017). The video clearly shows that his friend fulfilled the officer’s demands and dropped his weapon, while Mohamed continued to move in the direction of the man, ignoring the demands of the police. This behavior led Officer Jordan Winegar to shoot the teenager four times.
The footage also shows that the police officer did not kill the teenager but wounded him with shots. After the incident, the surrounding people began to resent what had happened. Later it will become known that the victim of the shooting fell into a coma, and his condition was critical. The incident sparked a widespread public outcry in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Local residents of the area pelted the police with garbage and stones (“Abdi Mohamed: Teen Shot,” 2016). More than 100 police officers had to be enlisted to help restore order in the area (Gephardt Daily staff, 2020). As a result, the area was evacuated, and police officers from other areas. However, the police commented on the incident differently from the witnesses.
Police say they responded directly to the attack by two men with metal sticks on an elderly man. It is also emphasized that the officer several times demanded to stop and drop the weapon. After the teenager continued to move towards the man, the officer had to shoot him four times (“Abdi Mohamed: Teen Shot,” 2016). This information completely coincides with what can be seen in the video. While a friend of Mohamed claims that the officer did not repeat his request but immediately took the weapon and fired, the video shows that he uttered the demand at least twice (The Salt Lake City Tribune, 2017). Later, the incident attracted not only local but also more broad attention.
The plaintiff in the court was the family of Mohamed, in particular his cousin Muslima Weledi. The proceedings were conducted in the Salt Lake County District, Utah (Gephardt Daily staff, 2020). Mohamed’s family accused the Salt Lake City police of power abuse and causing grievous bodily harm. According to Mohamed’s cousin, their family moved to the US in search of better conditions than in Somalia, where they were starving and experiencing constant violence (Whitehurst, 2016). After the move, the family joined a Somali refugee shelter where they could receive assistance and job opportunities.
The cousin also emphasizes that Mohamed’s life changed after his grandfather was involved in an incident which traumatized the teenager. The court records indicate that the teenager has long-term problems with the law, for which force he was accused of assault, theft, and trespasses (Whitehurst, 2016). Moreover, the incident in which Mohamed was shot was due to a man’s desire to purchase marijuana from a teenager. However, he only had methamphetamine with him, after which he decided to take the money from the man. However, his cousin claims that the dispute was due to the man’s harsh words, which led to a confrontation (Whitehurst, 2016). Witnesses also claim that the teenager used a wooden broomstick broken in half, not a metal one.
The shooting caused widespread public attention as the police refused to release footage of video footage immediately after the incident. Police representatives stressed that they should be considered together with other evidence. Moreover, there was a possibility that Mohamed could have been charged with the fight (Tribune News Services, 2016). This circumstance caused extreme discontent on the part of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which demanded to provide the record. Many police action critics stressed that the incident was rooted in racial discrimination. However, Michael Millard, the president of the Salt Lake Police Association, stated that “this case is not about race; they acted in defense of an innocent party” (Tribune News Services, 2016). In this case, the actions of the police could be justified for a number of reasons.
First of all, according to the laws of the state of Utah, the use of weapons is allowed in situations where an officer or his health is in danger. However, the new standards recommend that officers avoid shooting by retreating or hiding (Tribune News Services, 2016). Thus, the police claim that the reason for the incident was the fear of the officers for their lives. Moreover, they tried to prevent harm to the man who came into confrontation with Mohamed.
Police refusal to publicly release body-worn footage has sparked community discontent, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. After much debate about the legality and necessity of this action, the records were published. Additionally, a surveillance video from the area of ​​the homeless shelter has been released (Miller, 2017). It shows that initially, the police came to investigate the theft of a mobile phone, but on the way back they noticed a confrontation between Mohamed and Kelly McRae who was attacked by the teen. Based on the footage, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill stated that “the officers were justified in using deadly force, because the officers believed the deadly force was necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to McRae” (Miller, 2017). Police officials supported the decision, stressing that a large-scale investigation had been conducted. Finally, Kory Checketts and Jordan Winegard have not been charged and the shooting was legally justified in August of 2017. The incident is the first time that body-worn police footage has been publicly released.
This incident is notable primarily for the fact that the shooting led to the trial of Mohamed. After the shooting, the teen lay in a coma for more than two weeks and still needs a wheelchair (McKenzie, 2017). However, the released records made it possible, when examining the guilt of the police, to reveal Mohamed’s offenses. The teen was “charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and drug possession with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony” (McKenzie, 2017). The evidence presented was found by Judge Julie Lund to be sufficient to continue the trial on both charges. It is noteworthy that Mohamed’s attorney, after the hearing, stated that “they have never opposed the release of the body camera footage, but chose not to make that stance public until the video had been admitted in court” (McKenzie, 2017). Thus, they feared that the police tape would become evidence of Mohamed’s crimes.
During the hearing, officers who shot at the teenager took part as witnesses. However, the main witness was McRae, who was in confrontation with Mohamed. According to him, the teen approached the man and tried to sell methamphetamine, which he refused. According to McRae, Mohamed then took him to another man who was carrying a heavy metal pipe. Then he decided to run away, and Mohamed and another man rushed after him, which the police later joined. The only witness for the defense was Mohamed’s friend Johnathan Holman, who was initially with the teen. Jonathan claimed that there was no talk of drugs or money, while McRae approached them himself and sexually harassed the girl who was with them. According to Jonathan, he left at the beginning of the confrontation and did not see how it ended. Mohamed’s attorney demanded that the case be closed as there was not sufficient evidence of extortion of money from McRae, and the quantities of drugs were for personal use, not for sale.
References
McKenzie, R. (2017). Body camera footage shown in court as case ordered to proceed against Abdi Mohamed. Deseret.
Miller, J. (2017). Body-cam footage shows 2016 police shooting of Abdi Mohamed outside SLC homeless shelter. The Salt Lake Tribune.
Abdi Mohamed: Teen shot by Salt Lake City police awakens from coma. (2016). Inquisitr.
Andrew, S. (2020). Why police shoot so many times to bring down a suspect. CNN.
Gephardt Daily staff. (2020). Salt Lake County DA says SLCPD officer won’t be charged in 2020 shooting. Gephardt Daily.
Lockhart, B. (2016). Hundreds rally in downtown Salt Lake to protest police shooting of teen. KSL.
Smart, C. (2017). Utah teen shot by police near homeless shelter closes criminal case by pleading guilty to reduced charges.
The Salt Lake Tribune. (2017). GRAPHIC CONTENT: Body cam video of police shooting Abdullahi “Abdi” Mohamed [Video]. YouTube.
Whitehurst, L. (2016). 17-year-old shot by police in Utah had fled violence in Somali refugee camp. The Washington Post.
Tribune News Services. (2016). Salt Lake City police shooting raises questions. Chicago Tribune.