I have to agree with those that believe this was a good shoot, based on the information given. Listed below is a follow up article from Saturday's Dayton Daily News in regard to protests about the shooting. I wonder who the Somali community would be blaming had this man killed one of them. Sad situation all around.
From the Dayton Daily:
Somalis protest fatal shooting
Columbus police say immigrant lunged with knife
By Laura A. Bischoff
Dayton Daily News
COLUMBUS | More than 200 Somalis protested Friday against police brutality and demanded justice in the shooting death of a 23-year-old Somali immigrant.
Protesters carried homemade signs and American and Somali flags as they marched around Columbus City Hall and shouted: "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Right now!"
Franklin County sheriff's deputies shot and killed Nasir Abdi on Wednesday outside the Cassady Village Apartments in northeast Columbus. Four officers had been sent to pick up Abdi and take him to a mental health center under court order.
"Instead, Nasir Abdi was brutally shot and killed by the deputies. Instead of receiving treatment for his illness today in a medical facility, Nasir Abdi is dead. This is not right. City and county leaders must not ignore this situation," said Liibaan Ismail, a spokesman for the Somali protesters. He added: "This young man was killed when he was supposed to be protected by the authorities."
Police and Somali accounts of what happened are wildly different.
Columbus police investigating the shooting death have said Abdi pulled out a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade as officers approached him. Officer Mike Wiley sprayed Abdi with Mace, which didn't stop him. When Abdi made violent slashes at officers, deputy Jason Evans shot him in the torso.
But Ismail said, "There were a number of witnesses who were present when the shooting took place. A lot of those witnesses confirmed that Mr. Nasir Abdi did not have a knife. It contradicts what the police have said. What we need is the facts to come out and we want justice served."
Adam O'Hirsi, Abdi's cousin, said, "What is so appalling here is the belief within the Somali community that he would not be dead if he had a different color or lived in a different neighborhood."
Ashkir Ali, another Abdi cousin, called the shooting death "a modern-day lynching."
Police could have restrained Abdi instead of shooting him, Ali said.
Abdullahi Hussen said Somalis' trust of law enforcement will dwindle if such things continue to happen or the Abdi shooting isn't properly investigated.
Ismail doubted that a thorough investigation would happen.
"The police have already made their conclusion that this gentleman had a knife," Ismail said.
Roughly 35,000 Somali and Somali-Americans live in Columbus. They began immigrating 25 years ago but in the past decade larger numbers moved to the city, particularly after hearing by word of mouth about affordable housing and jobs, said Hassan Omar, executive director of the Somali Community Association of Ohio.
Somalia, in eastern Africa on the Indian Ocean, is a country about the size of Texas. Since 1991, the country of 8 million has been in the throes of civil war and political turmoil.
This story contains information from The Associated Press.
There are professional caliber police officers out there, and I appreciate them. But there are a LOT of just plain JERKS wearing a badge too. When I was a watch commander at a Military installation, part of my job was to make sure my officers performed their duties in a professional manner and evaluate/award/or dicipline them accordingly. The watch commander I worked for as his assitant watch commander, he was a jerk that came from a Florida Sheriff's Dept, and I ended up getting his position because of him being a JERK.