SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 10, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Abdi Mohamed used a wheelchair to get in and out of court on Wednesday.
The teenager — charged in connection with a Feb. 27 incident where he was shot four times by Salt Lake City police officers — was in Third District Court for his first court date in the case. Mohamed, who was 17 at the time and is now 18, is charged with aggravated robbery and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
According to information released by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, police were responding to an unrelated call on Feb. 27 in the Rio Grande area of Salt Lake City, at a homeless shelter, when they noticed the altercation involving Mohamed.
On Monday, Gill announced that the shooting of Mohamed had been declared justified.
Gill said officers acted appropriately when they fired at Mohamed because police believed he was about to kill another man with a metal stick — which one officer admitted mistaking for a sword — and because the teen did not comply with officers’ orders to drop the weapon. Gill said Mohamed had been trying to buy drugs from his victim.
According to information provided by Gill, the bullets hit Mohamed in the right middle flank; the center of the back, left of the spine; the left middle flank; and the left triceps.
Mohamed on Wednesday waived his right to a speedy trial. Third District Juvenile Court Judge Julie Lund scheduled Mohamed’s hearing for Oct. 3, when she will decide if there is enough evidence to make him stand trial. Gill has said prosecutors will seek to try Mohamed as an adult.
Leaving court, Mohamed responded to the media with, “No comment.”
The names of people charged in juvenile court are not usually published, but Mohamed was identified by his family members and by multiple civil rights organizations calling for the release of bodycam footage to determine what really happened on the night of Feb. 27. Gill has refused to release the footage until the case is closed.
When Gill announced the charges against Mohamed, he added that the officers in the case will not be charged.
Below, see photos and video shot by Gephardt Daily on the night of Feb. 27.
