DA: Deadly Force Justified in Boston Terror Suspect's Death

BOSTON, MA — The Suffolk County District Attorney on Wednesday said his office has found an FBI agent and Boston Police officer's use of deadly force justified in the shooting of an alleged Boston terror suspect.

Usaamah Rahim was killed last summer in Roslindale during a standoff with a terrorism task force. Witness testimony backs up agents' claims that Rahim advanced toward them with a "large, military-style knife" before he was shot, District Attorney Daniel Conley said on Wednesday.

Rahim, 26, of Roslindale, was accused of planning to behead police officers in Boston, an attack the FBI believed to be imminent. He also allegedly conspired with two other men, a plot that reportedly included a plan to behead anti-Islamic blogger Pamela Geller.

Rahim had been under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force prior his death for alleged ties to ISIS.

Conley said Wednesday that task force investigators overheard a phone conversation indicating Rahim was deviating from the planned target (reportedly Geller), and intended instead to strike out on his own and attempt to kill Boston police officers. Task force members were under orders to prevent Rahim from getting onto public transportation or otherwise getting close to a "target-rich environment," Conley said.

When Rahim went to the bus stop toward the Forest Hills transit station, members of the task force moved in. Rahim pulled a knife, Conley said.

"There is no question that the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force had probable cause to arrest Mr. Rahim," he said. "In fact, knowing what they now did about his plans that day, they had the duty to stop him."

Task force members identified themselves, and repeatedly asked Rahim to drop the knife, as they retreated back through the parking lot, Conley said. Rahim continued advancing, ignoring their orders to drop his weapon, and asking, "Why don't you drop yours? ... Why don't you just kill me?" according to Conley.

He was shot in the torso by a Boston Police officer and an FBI agent, falling with the knife still in his hand, according to Conley. Rahim was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The DA's office based its findings on 18 civilian witnesses' corroborating statements, video surveillance footage from multiple angles, and interviews with the task force members and officers involved, Conley said. A 770-page report on the case has been released to connected parties and will be shared with the press. Several names are withheld, as the larger federal investigation into Rahim's alleged terrorist ties continues.

The District Attorney said he's spoken with Rahim's family, and with leaders in the Boston-area Muslim community, of which Rahim was a part.

"I'll tell them, as I'll tell you, that Mr. Rahim was being investigated for his actions, not for his faith," Conley told reporters Wednesday.

Rahim's family has, from the start, expressed doubts with the police narrative in the case. They gathered on the steps outside the District Attorney's office Wednesday to respond to the newly released findings.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, the Rahim family's lawyer expressed continued concerns that police did not do enough to de-escalate the situation. They also spoke in support of body-worn cameras, a pilot program currently getting underway at the Boston Police Department, according to reporters on the scene.

That second concern stems from the surveillance footage in this case, which Conley on Wednesday agreed were poor quality recordings that could not be conclusive on their own. The four video surveillance videos available in Rahim's case were either far away or obscured by rain drops, Conely said.

Rahim family lawyer Ronald Sullivan Jr. also suggested investigators' attempt to make an arrest when they approached Rahim was illegal, according to The Boston Globe. Sullivan said there are not pending plans to file a lawsuit in the case, but all legal options remain on the table, the Globe reported.

“Fear of terrorism and allegations of holding a knife do not authorize law enforcement to issue a death warrant in violation of our constitution,” Sullivan said, according to the paper.

>> Photo via WHDH 7News

Patch has corrected a previous version of this story to clarify that the Rahim family's lawyer spoke to reporters, not the family members themselves. It also clarified language in the second paragraph to remain consistent with the district attorney's statement.