The mayor of Cambridge says a long, challenging process lies ahead for the Massachusetts city after a Bangladeshi American college student was shot and killed by police last week.Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui made a statement about the deadly police shooting of 20-year-old Sayed Faisal during Monday night’s city council meeting.Faisal, a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, was shot on Jan. 4 while advancing on officers with what police described as a kukri and after a less-than-lethal “sponge round” failed to stop him, authorities have said. A kukri is a short sword with an angled blade that originated in South Asia.Several hundred protesters expressed anger and frustration during a rally outside Cambridge City Hall on Monday.”Tonight, I share your distress, confusion; your pain at your lowest point,” Siddiqui said during the city council meeting. “As city leaders, we have a lot of unfinished work to address and we have to do everything we can to make sure this never happens again.”Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow also spoke during Monday’s city council meeting, promising that the Cambridge Police Department is committed to a complete and transparent investigation.”We’ve worked hard to build trust. I understand that this tragic incident may have shaken that trust,” Elow said.During the rally, which was organized by the Bangladesh Association of New England, protesters held signs saying “Justice for Faisal” and “Faisal needed help not bullets,” while his friends and teachers remembered his friendliness, his positive outlook and his intelligence.An independent judicial inquest into the shooting has been initiated. The findings of that inquest will be forwarded to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office to decide whether charges are warranted, a process that could take a year or more.Faisal, who was known as Prince by his family, was an only child who was never violent and had never been involved with law enforcement before, his parents said in a statement released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.“We are completely devastated and in disbelief that our son is gone,” the Cambridge residents said. “Prince was the most wonderful, loving, caring, generous, supportive, and deeply family-oriented person. He loved to travel, create art, and play sports with his friends.”Siddiqui, Elow, Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan are all expected to attend a community meeting on Thursday to discuss the shooting and answer questions from the public. That meeting is scheduled to take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School on Putnam Avenue, and representatives from Riverside Community Care and other health professionals will be at the meeting to provide support and counseling for those who need it.The City Council has also scheduled a special meeting from 3-5 p.m. on Jan. 18 to discuss protocols, processes and training of city police.A meeting with the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association is also being planned by the Cambridge Peace Commission.Authorities have not released the name of the officer who opened fire. The officer, who is on paid administrative leave, is a seven-year department veteran who has never been the subject of a citizen’s complaint, police spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said Monday.According to the preliminary investigation, police received a 911 call early last Wednesday afternoon from a resident who reported seeing a man jumping out of an apartment window with a machete, which he appeared to be using to cut himself.Officers and paramedics found the man, identified as Faisal, bleeding in an alley.Faisal saw the police, who requested that he drop the weapon, and ran for several blocks.He then reportedly moved toward the police while still holding the weapon, even when they fired a less-than-lethal round at him. He continued to advance, and one officer fired a gun, striking Faisal, who later died at a hospital, authorities said.
The mayor of Cambridge says a long, challenging process lies ahead for the Massachusetts city after a Bangladeshi American college student was shot and killed by police last week.
Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui made a statement about the deadly police shooting of 20-year-old Sayed Faisal during Monday night’s city council meeting.
Faisal, a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, was shot on Jan. 4 while advancing on officers with what police described as a kukri and after a less-than-lethal “sponge round” failed to stop him, authorities have said. A kukri is a short sword with an angled blade that originated in South Asia.
Several hundred protesters expressed anger and frustration during a rally outside Cambridge City Hall on Monday.
“Tonight, I share your distress, confusion; your pain at your lowest point,” Siddiqui said during the city council meeting. “As city leaders, we have a lot of unfinished work to address and we have to do everything we can to make sure this never happens again.”
Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow also spoke during Monday’s city council meeting, promising that the Cambridge Police Department is committed to a complete and transparent investigation.
“We’ve worked hard to build trust. I understand that this tragic incident may have shaken that trust,” Elow said.
During the rally, which was organized by the Bangladesh Association of New England, protesters held signs saying “Justice for Faisal” and “Faisal needed help not bullets,” while his friends and teachers remembered his friendliness, his positive outlook and his intelligence.
An independent judicial inquest into the shooting has been initiated. The findings of that inquest will be forwarded to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office to decide whether charges are warranted, a process that could take a year or more.
Faisal, who was known as Prince by his family, was an only child who was never violent and had never been involved with law enforcement before, his parents said in a statement released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“We are completely devastated and in disbelief that our son is gone,” the Cambridge residents said. “Prince was the most wonderful, loving, caring, generous, supportive, and deeply family-oriented person. He loved to travel, create art, and play sports with his friends.”
Siddiqui, Elow, Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan are all expected to attend a community meeting on Thursday to discuss the shooting and answer questions from the public. That meeting is scheduled to take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School on Putnam Avenue, and representatives from Riverside Community Care and other health professionals will be at the meeting to provide support and counseling for those who need it.
The City Council has also scheduled a special meeting from 3-5 p.m. on Jan. 18 to discuss protocols, processes and training of city police.
A meeting with the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association is also being planned by the Cambridge Peace Commission.
Authorities have not released the name of the officer who opened fire. The officer, who is on paid administrative leave, is a seven-year department veteran who has never been the subject of a citizen’s complaint, police spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said Monday.
According to the preliminary investigation, police received a 911 call early last Wednesday afternoon from a resident who reported seeing a man jumping out of an apartment window with a machete, which he appeared to be using to cut himself.
Officers and paramedics found the man, identified as Faisal, bleeding in an alley.
Faisal saw the police, who requested that he drop the weapon, and ran for several blocks.
He then reportedly moved toward the police while still holding the weapon, even when they fired a less-than-lethal round at him. He continued to advance, and one officer fired a gun, striking Faisal, who later died at a hospital, authorities said.
