Family Of Harlem Man Killed By Police Asks City To Drop Appeal

HARLEM, NY — The family of a man who was shot and killed by police in 2012 and its supporters held a rally in front of City Hall Wednesday to demand Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration drop an appeal of a civil lawsuit that awarded the family more than $2 million.

Hawa Bah, the mother of Mohamed Bah, hand delivered a letter to the administration after the afternoon rally. Mohamed Bah was fatally shot by police in his West 124th Street apartment on Sept. 25, 2012 after his mother asked police to perform a wellness check on her son.

“De Blasio must drop the appeal. Every time we have to return to court we are forced to re-live the unjust murder of my son. I want to hear from the mayor face to face why he is continuing to make my family suffer," Bah said before delivering the letter.

In November, A federal jury in Manhattan voted to hold NYPD Emergency Services Unit officer Edwin Mateo and lieutenant Michael Licitra liable for the 2012 death of Mohamed Bah, lawyers representing Bah's family told Patch. The jury ruled that Mateo used excessive force in Bah's death and that Licitra failed to properly supervise the situation, lawyers said. Bah's family was awarded $2.21 million in the federal civil lawsuit, lawyers said.

The NYPD officers were never charged for the 2012 killing of Bah, who suffered from mental illness. The U.S. Attorney's office announced that the officers would not face charges after an independent investigation into Bah's death failed to produce sufficient evidence for federal charges. The U.S. Attorney's office began its investigation in 2015.

The city's appeal of the civil lawsuit began in May when the administration filed motions for "qualified immunity" for both Mateo and Licitra, grassroots organization Justivce Committee announced. A judge upheld the motion for Licitra, but denied the motion for Mateo. The city administration then filed another appeal of the

"It’s hard to understand why the de Blasio administration is putting the Bah family through this ordeal," Justice Committee Co-Director Loyda Colon said in a statement. "This family has gone through enough. It’s been almost six years of hearings, court dates and the trial, during which they were forced to listen to the NYPD lie about what happened to Mohamed."

Bah was shot in West 124th Street and Morningside Avenue apartment on Sept. 25, 2012 after police responded to a welfare call made by Bah's mother, the New York Times reported in 2012

"She expresses a concern that her son, who is in this apartment, is going to hurt himself or somebody else," NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne told the Times in 2012.

A standoff ensued when patrol officers arrived at the apartment and were greeted by Bah, who was standing naked and holding a knife, the Times reported. The NYPD Emergency Service Unit were called to the scene and tried to convince Bah, who had put clothes on, to drop the knife. Bah was shot in the arm, chest, abdomen and head, the Times reported in 2012.

The city Law Department did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Photo by Tim Roske/Associated Press