A Muslim group released five photos Wednesday taken as part of the investigation into the fatal shooting of a cleric during a raid by FBI agents in Dearborn last year.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released the five photos of the body of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah to the news media from among 75 photos obtained from the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office. The photos were released to CAIR after the imam’s widow, Amina Abdullah, and one of his sons, Mujahid Carswell, approved the request.
Three of the photos are closeups showing missing teeth, as well as cuts, gashes and other injuries on Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s face and head. CAIR questions whether the latter injuries are from the police dog that the FBI says was fatally shot by Abdullah.
Two photos show Abdullah on the ground after he was killed. One shows him lying facedown with his hands cuffed behind his back -- something authorities have said is standard procedure.
Dawud Walid, the council’s executive director, said nationally-known forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht has been asked to review both the autopsy report and the photos. “There are a lot of questions, and the photos raise more questions,” Walid said, adding that other photos were deemed too graphic by the family and CAIR to release to the news media. The Free Press is only showing the photo of the imam handcuffed and facedown because of similar concerns.
According to the autopsy, Abdullah was shot 20 times, with one bullet causing two wounds. The FBI has said it acted appropriately in the two-year investigation, raid and shootout that left Abdullah dead. Agents on the Oct. 28 raid wanted to arrest the cleric and 10 other people on suspicion of dealing in stolen goods. Delays in the release of the autopsy report and completion of a Dearborn police investigation have fueled criticism of the case’s handling. The FBI and the Department of Justice also are reviewing the matter.
FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said Wednesday that the agency had no comment on the release of the photos. Omar Regan, one of Abdullah’s 13 children, said he washed his father’s body after he was killed, but was still troubled seeing the photos.
“It’s clear that something went wrong,” he told the Free Press.
Livonia Police Chief Robert Stevenson recounted on Wednesday a run-in with Abdullah in 1980 when the imam was known as Christopher Thomas. Stevenson, who was a patrol officer at the time, stopped a car in which Abdullah was a passenger because its brake lights weren’t working.
Abdullah, who was carrying a gun in a shoulder holster, fought with Stevenson outside the car and tried to grab the gun, he said. Abdullah was arrested after Officer David Wilkie arrived and pointed his own gun at Abdullah.