The Council on American Islamic Relations is seeking to have the investigation into the shooting death of Ibragim Todashev reopened.
The 27-year-old was shot and killed when he attacked an FBI agent inside his Orlando-area apartment who was questioning his friendship with Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Turns out, the FBI agent, whose identity was released this week, was involved in two police brutality cases while an officer with the Oakland Police Department back in 2004.
“The agent who shot and killed Ibragim Todashev, Mr. Aaron McFarlane, has a history of police corruption, abuse of civil rights, beating suspects,” said Hassan Shibly with CAIR-Florida.
The group argues that when the Orange-Osceola state attorney’s office investigated the shooting and eventually cleared FBI agent Aaron McFarlane, his background should have been part of the investigation, which it was not.
The group has sent copies of letters sent to the FBI, Department of Justice and State Attorney’s Office in Orlando -- asking to reopen the investigation.
So why defend a man with reported ties to terrorism?
“This is about insuring that our law enforcement abide by the absolute highest standards when it comes to protecting our security and our liberty,” Shibly said.
Famed Bay area attorney Barry Cohen represents Todashev father, who lives in Chechnya, but traveled to Tampa last year to meet with representatives with the FBI to request a thorough investigation.
“They didn’t put that in the report because they were hiding it and concealing it from the public. They were embarrassed and they should have been embarrassed,” said Cohen. “Now that we have this information, there’s going to be a lot of things happening in the near future -- that we’re going to be getting to the bottom of this.”
The attorney Jeff Ashton’s office released a statement to 10 News on Friday that reads:
Attorney for the Todashev also question how McFarlane got a job with the FBI after being the subject of two police brutality lawsuits.
10 News did reach out to the FBI for comment by phone, but have not heard back.