Minneapolis Police Kill Somalian Man

newsday.com ^ | March 11, 2002, 1:45 PM EST | AP

[Waco Uppo]

MINNEAPOLIS -- Several police officers shot and killed a Somali man carrying a machete and critics accused the officers of using excessive force, saying the man was mentally ill.

At least five officers were put on routine administrative leave after the shooting Sunday. Mayor R.T Rybak planned to meet with Somali leaders to discuss the shooting.

Relatives identified the man as 28-year-old Abu Kassim Jeilani, who arrived from Somalia in 1997.

Investigators said it was too early to tell how much of a role language barriers might have played, and that the severity of Jeilani's mental illness was unclear.

[RippleFire]

Several police officers shot and killed a Somali man carrying a machete and critics accused the officers of using excessive force, saying the man was mentally ill.

Last time I checked a mentally ill man with a machete could put a world of hurt on just about anybody. What did they expect, tranquilizer darts?

Also our thanks go out to Bill Clinton for the influx of 3rd world slum dwellers.

[San Jacinto]

Mayor R.T Rybak planned to meet with Somali leaders to discuss the shooting.

The mayor is going to Somalia over this deal? Seems a little extreme to me.

[Publius6961]

Is this a yearly event now? Like Mardi Gras?
Didn't we have one of these last year?

[Conservomax]

He must have been pissed about all the Somalis who got their asses handed to them in "Black Hawk Down". Don't they know that gun beats machete.

[germanicus]

Shows what sub-freezing snowy weather and 250 days of cloudiness can do to a person used to hot, sunny desert living. Maybe social services should have supplied him with a sun lamp.

[jrewingjr]

A round of Guinness for the straight-shooting officers! Wish I could have seen it.

It was only weeks ago that a "mentally ill" person hacked the head off a man and put it on the hood of his car. Not to mention that this "skinny" was repeating his heathern "Allahu Blah Blah" phrase that the other terrorists say before murdering civilians.

[antaresequity]

Shows what sub-freezing snowy weather and 250 days of cloudiness can do to a person used to hot, sunny desert living. Maybe social services should have supplied him with a sun lamp

Priceless

[MadRobotArtist]

Jesus... I live in the Twin Cities. I live in an apartment complex with every nationality under the sun. I can assure you LANGUAGE WAS NOT A PROBLEM!!!!

I am sick to death of this feel bad for the Somalis, Feel bad that they won't become Americans, and feel bad that one wacko gets capped because he WOULDN'T put down a weapon. Shooting the guy to wound him would have been better. Shooting the machete out of his hand, or firing a warning shot wight have helped, but if a wacko with a machete was making threatening motions, and hacked at a cop car, I'd cap him too if I were the cops.

I am really hating this Somali special interest nonsense. WE have to get with the Somali Leaders... What kind of crap is that? Somali Leaders??? Aren't they subject to our rule of laws? This isn't a racially motivated shooting. This is about one wacko with a machete. Had this guy been carrying a gun, he would have probably shot at the cops. We're lucky he didn't kill any innocent people. I hate this feel bad for the bad guy crap that the media and local idiots are trying to force feed us. One wacko dead, the gene pool is getting cleaner I say.

[xm177e2]

A mentally ill guy was wandering around with a machete and a crowbar, on crowded streets, repeating "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar"... "Ali said that when police surrounded the man, he raised the machete and repeated the phrase before police shot him."

What do they think the guy was doing with those weapons? He was probably looking for Jews or something.

[stumpy]

I have a friend that blew away a guy a number of years ago. The guy was nuts and coming at my friend with a hatchet. During the coroner's inquest, the Deputy D.A. asked my friend in front of the grand jury if he was in fear for his life at the time he fired. My friend said,"no, I knew he wasn't going to hurt me, I had a shotgun and I wasn't going to let him kill me.". Grand Jury ruled it a justifiable homocide. Later some remarked to the Deputy D.A. that it was "refreshing" to hear a common sense answer to a foolish question.

[Mike Johnson]

This case is reminiscent of the Moro juramentados in the Phillipine Insurrection. Nothing much but a Springfield or a 12 gauge would stop them. The Army adopted the .45 automatic after Moros hacked several officers armed with .38 S&W revolvers. Mace indeed!

[Salman]

Several police officers shot and killed a Somali man carrying a machete and critics accused the officers of using excessive force, saying the man was mentally ill.

Sure sounds like excessive force to me.

When cops are faced with a machete wielding maniac they should psychoanalyze him on the spot, not shoot him.

We're such brutes, No wonder they hate us.

[PadreL]

He musta been mentally ill... He brought a knife to a gun fight.

[wardaddy]

just playing softass liberal devil's advocate here....but why not shoot to wound or disable?

[ActionNewsBill]

A round of Guinness for the straight-shooting officers! Wish I could have seen it.

If they were such "expert marksmen" couldn't they just put a couple of rounds into his kneecap to put him down?

Why do cops always have to use lethal force in a situation where a well placed shot would do the job without killing the "perp"?

[wardaddy]

If they are JBTs then yep pardner, they're not too high on my list. All that training, all that hardware and a group of cops surround some skinnyass crazy Somali with a large knife and they can't shoot to wound....bullsh!t!