Veterinary report: FBI dog in warehouse sting shot twice in neck
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
Detroit — The Council on American Islamic Relations — Michigan has obtained a copy of a report detailing the medical treatment provided for an FBI dog that died in an October FBI raid that also claimed the life of an Islamic cleric.
Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was the target of the sting operation and was fatally shot after the FBI said he refused to put down a gun and shot an FBI dog sent into a warehouse where the sting occurred. Abdullah was shot 20 times in the incident.
The dog was taken to Veterinary Emergency Services Inc., in Madison Heights. The three-page report indicates that the dog was shot in the neck twice. Two bullets and some bullet fragments were removed from the animal, according to the report. The report does not state the caliber of the bullet fragments or the bullets.
Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-Michigan, said not knowing the caliber of the bullet makes it difficult to know who shot the dog.
“We don’t know if the dog was shot by friendly fire or not,” he said.
In addition, Abdullah suffered wounds in the sting that could have been caused by the dog, Walid said. The News reviewed autopsy photos that showed cuts to the imam’s face and other wounds whose origins were unclear.
The authorities did not test Abdullah’s hands for gunshot residue, something that also could have proven whether he shot at the dog, Walid said.
Walid and a coalition of religious leaders have called for an investigation into the death. At a press conference earlier this month, Walid said he sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to start a civil rights probe.
“Due to conflicting accounts of the incident and numerous Freedom of Information Act requests filed to law enforcement agencies relating to the shooting which have been denied, numerous parties … have called for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to open a thorough and robust civil rights investigation into the circumstances of Abdullah’s death,” the letter to Obama stated.
Walid said Abdullah’s family is frustrated by the slow release of information in the case.
“We all want closure on this issue,” he said.
FBI officials were not available for comment.
One of the veterinarians who worked on the dog is out of the country and the other was not due to work until later this evening, Veterinary Emergency Services staffers said.
***
2 shots to the neck killed FBI dog, tests show
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The FBI dog killed during a raid involving Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was shot twice in the neck, according to a veterinary report released today by a Muslim group.
Freddy the dog was used by the FBI during the Oct. 28 raid in Dearborn to arrest Abdullah and his followers on suspicion of dealing in stolen goods. Abdullah was shot and killed during the raid by FBI agents.
The FBI has said Abdullah first shot Freddy, after which agents returned fire. Family members and some advocates say it’s unclear who shot the dog, raising the question of whether the dog could have been shot by friendly fire.
The veterinary report, known as a necropsy, talks about bullet fragments found in the dog, but does not indicate what type of bullets were used. It also says there were four wounds noted on the dog, but does not indicate whether some of those were from exit wounds or other bullets. It says, “Multiple small bullet fragments seen.”
The dog arrived Oct. 28 at Veterinary Emergency Service of Madison Heights, which did the report.
The veterinarian named on the report is currently on vacation and another involved with the report is not at work now, the company said today.
The report was released by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has been critical of the FBI’s killing of Abdullah, a Muslim leader who headed a mosque in Detroit.
The FBI, which used informants to monitor Abdullah, has said Abdullah made statements that were anti-government and advocated violence.
“The necropsy report raises more questions than answers,” said Dawud Walid, head of the council. “It doesn’t tell us what bullet calibers were found. So we don’t know if friendly fire was involved or not.”
The FBI said it had no comment today on the report. The head of the Detroit FBI, Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena, has said previously that his agents acted appropriately. Speaking in West Bloomfield two weeks ago, Arena said he worried that Abdullah or his followers might attack police officers.
