http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=10308639
April 7, 2010
A fiery Muslim leader who was shot dead during an attempt to arrest him in
Dearborn, Mich., was found to have been riddled with 21 shots including one in
the back. He also had a broken jaw, broken teeth and his hands were cuffed
behind his back, according to an autopsy report.
An autopsy photo obtained by ABC News shows Imam Ameen Abdullah Luqman lying face down on the ground
with his hands clearly cuffed behind him.
Additional photos obtained by ABC News also show deep lacerations on Luqman's
face that his family believes may have been caused by a police dog.
Federal authorities claim that Luqman, 53, was killed last October in a
Dearborn trailer after failing to surrender to police. The day before the raid,
federal authorities filed a criminal complaint that alleged conspiracy to
commit federal crimes including theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to
obtain proceeds from arson, illegal sale and possession of firearms and
tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers. These allegation were made
through the use of confidential informants, the documents state.
Click here to see an autopsy photo of Luqman's face. Beware
of the graphic nature of the photograph showing deep lacerations which his
family believes may have been caused by a police dog.
An FBI officer on the scene of Luqman's death reported that a police dog
was sent in when Luqman refused to show officers his hands, and that Luqman
shot and killed the dog. However, a press release after the incident from the
U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit does not say Luqman killed the dog. It simply
states a canine was "killed in the exchange." The shot allegedly
fired by Luqman prompted police to take the gunfire as a threat and they
returned fire, according to FBI reports.
Luqman's family says there's no proof he was carrying a gun that day, and the
family has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to get the necropsy
report for the dead police dog to determine whether the dog was killed by a
police bullet. The request has been declined.
Luqman's son, Omar Regan, asks "How did he shoot the dog if his jaw was
broken and there were lacerations on his face?"
A spokesman for the FBI in
Detroit declined to discuss the Luqman case because of ongoing investigations
into what happened that day in October 2009. There is an internal FBI
investigations into the shooting, as well an investigation by the Dearborn Police
Department. In addition, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., asked Attorney
General Eric Holder earlier this year for a separate review of the FBI's use of
confidential informants.
Luqman, according to an FBI affidavit, once said in a 2004 sermon, "Do not
carry a pistol if you're going to give it up to police. You give them a bullet
rather than surrendering your weapons."
Luqman and his associates are described as armed and dangerous in the affidavit
and complaint filed by federal authorities before the arrest. FBI Special Agent
in Charge Andrew Arena said after the shooting that he was comfortable with his
agents' actions. "They did what they had to do to protect
themselves," he said.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in
Detroit, asked, "How could he be so sure?"
Walid said that despite Luqman's rhetoric, he was not dangerous. The Imam
struggled to pay rent and heat at his mosque in Dearborn, and was evicted from
a previous mosque for not paying rent. Walid says the police actions at the
Detroit warehouse that day amounted to excessive force, borne out by the
condition of Luqman's body when the medical examiner arrived.
The medical examiner's report says the body was cold when he arrived and rigor
mortis had set in, so it was impossible to establish time of death. The police
dog named "Freddy," a Belgian Malinois, was airlifted to get medical
attention, while Luqman's body was eventually taken by ambulance to the
hospital, according to his son. Freddy was later honored with a memorial
service.
It remains unclear how Luqman's jaw came to be broken and his face so badly
lacerated or when he was handcuffed.
After viewing all the autopsy photos with the Wayne County Medical Examiner,
Lena Masri, an attorney for CAIR Michigan, said she believes Luqman's body may
have been moved from the original location where he was killed before the
medical examiner arrived.
Luqman preached overthrowing
the U.S. government and establishing Islamic law, but he was not charged with
terrorism. Federal authorities used informants inside Luqman's mosque to gather
evidence that he and his associates were dealing in stolen goods, and illegally
possessed firearms, among other charges.
Eleven associates of Luqman were subsequently charged with some or all of the
following federal crimes: conspiracy to commit federal crimes, being a felon in
possession of firearms, possession of firearm with altered serial number,
tampering with vehicle identification numbers and aiding and abetting. When
charged in court, all of the defendants refused to respond to a request to
enter a plea, so the court entered a plea of not-guilty on their behalf.
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