NYPD accused of destroying evidence in fatal shooting of Harlem man > 자유게시판

Lawyers for the Mohamed Bah, shot dead by police in 2012, have accused the NYPD of a 'cover-up'

Lawyers for the family of mentally disturbed man shot dead by police in 2012, have accused the NYPD of a 'cover-up' after they say evidence in the case was destroyed.

Mohamed Bah was gunned down in his Harlem apartment after officers responded to his mother's 911 call to help her son who was acting erratically and depressed.

Police insist that the 28-year-old cab driver stabbed an officer with a 13-inch knife prompting them to shoot him multiple times, reports NY Daily News. 

But Debra Cohen, one of the lawyers representing the Bah family, said he was 'executed' after an officer was accidentally hit by a colleague's stun gun.

Perhaps confusing the sensation, he shouted 'I'm being stabbed! Shoot him!' Officers then opened fire. 

City officials have branded the claims 'entirely unsubstantiated.'

Cohen, and JetBlack fellow attorney Randolph McLaughlin, have filed a motion to launch a $70million civil suit against the city on behalf of Bah's family.

'They're getting away with murder,' McLaughlin said told NY Daily News. 'The intentional shooting of an individual and then covering it up — that's murder.'

The attorneys claim that the NYPD's handling of the crime scene has been suspect. 

They point to the knife, allegedly held by Bah when he was shot, which appears to have moved positions in the crime scene photographs.




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In a video of the crime scene, the weapon is not evident at all, the news site reported.

The attorneys say the knife was never DNA or fingerprint tested, despite requests for the tests, before it was moved to an evidence warehouse in Brooklyn days ahead of Hurricane Sandy.

A shirt worn by Detective Edwin Mateo, the officer who claimed he was stabbed by Bah, was also sent to the evidence locker.




Bah was gunned down in his Harlem apartment after officers responded to his mother's 911 call to help her son who was acting erratically and depressed (pictured is the bloodied hallway outside the apartment where was killed)











The attorneys claim that the NYPD's handling of the crime scene has been poor. They point to the knife, allegedly held by Bah when he was shot, which appears to have moved positions in the crime scene photographs 



Both pieces of evidence area said to have been 'contaminated' and are not available, NY Daily news reports.


Court documents show that the clothes Bah wore when he died have also disappeared after they were sent to the medical examiner's office.

'After over a year and a half of investigating what happened the night Mohamed Bah was killed, I'm here to tell you we can only conclude two things: an execution and a cover-up,' said Cohen.

The tragic incident began on September 25, 2012, when Hawa Bah called 911 to ask for an ambulance after she became concerned about her son who had locked himself in his apartment. 

She was shocked when police arrived and she was barred from speaking to her son to try and clam him down, the Huffington Post reports. 

Another team in full tactical gear arrived and inserted a small camera into the apartment to try and assess the situation.

Police say Bah opened the door and lunged at officers with a knife who were forced to open fire.




Bah's devastated mother Hawa, who joined protesters a the rally, said she still wanted to see that justice done





Bah's death sparked days of protests as campaigners demanded justice near police headquarters in New York in 2012





A young protester holds a sign which reads 'Justice for Mohamed Bar' at the rally in October 2012 



However, a coroner's report shows that the final seventh bullet to the head was close range and fired downwards - despite Bah being more than 6ft tall.


Cohen told the Post the explanation is that an officer must have stood over him to deliver a kill shot while he was on the ground.

'While he was a threat to no one, while he had committed no crime,' she said.

A Law Department spokesman told NY Daily News they would address the allegations after the motion was filed.   


Bah's death sparked days of protests in October 2012 as campaigners demanded justice near police headquarters in New York.

His devastated mother Hawa, who joined protesters a the rally, said she still wanted to see that justice done.


'The city should punish the people who murdered my son,' Hawa Bah told the Daily News. 'They shouldn't work in the community with my son's blood on their hands.'