DA: FBI, BPD justified in shooting knife-wielding man to death in Roslindale parking lot

Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said today that a Boston police officer and an FBI agent had good reason to fatally shoot Usaamah Rahim in the parking lot of the Washington Street CVS last year: They already feared he was planning to kill a police officer when he started coming at them with "a large, military-style knife."

In a statement today, Conley said he concluded no charges were warranted because Rahim:

Posed the threat of death or serious injury to the Task Force officers at the time of the shooting. Their use of deadly force was a lawful exercise of self-defense or defense of others and did not constitute a crime under Massachusetts law.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force had Rahim, a resident of a nearby apartment complex, under constant surveillance, saying that he and accomplices had made plans to try to behead full-time Islam hater Pamela Geller. On the morning of June 2, officials have said, they were particularly wary because Rahim had made a phone call in which he decided that rather than taking the time to go after Geller in New York, he'd take out "some boys in blue" in Boston.

Conley's report on the incident states:

After listening to the 5:00 AM conversation, a JTTF supervisor notified the surveillance team that, due to the imminent threat to law enforcement officers and the public, the surveillance team should stop Mr. Rahim for questioning and prevent him from boarding public transportation. JTTF personnel were aware that a bus that Mr. Rahim frequently rode stopped at a bus stop on Washington Street on its way to the Forest Hills MBTA Station. JTTF personnel were also aware that a number of police officers and members of the public could be potential targets inside the Forest Hills MBTA Station.

At 6:53 AM, surveillance officers watched Mr. Rahim leave his home at 375 Blue Ledge Drive in Roslindale – a short walk to the CVS parking lot at 4600 Washington Street. Mr. Rahim walked directly to the CVS store and went inside. After approximately five minutes, the surveillance officers watched Mr. Rahim walk back to his apartment. As Mr. Rahim had not tried to board an MBTA bus, the JTTF supervisor told the surveillance team not to stop him, but, instead, to continue watching him. The JTTF alerted both Boston Police Department and FBI tactical units to come to the area.
Shortly after 7:00 AM, the surveillance officers watched Mr. Rahim leave his apartment and again walk towards the CVS parking lot. He was carrying a backpack and walked toward the bus stop on Washington Street. Because of Mr. Rahim’s stated intention to attack a law enforcement officer and the threat to innocent civilians, the JTTF supervisor told the surveillance team to stop Mr. Rahim for questioning and prevent him from boarding public transportation.

Mr. Rahim walked from the back of the CVS parking lot to the sidewalk on the inbound side of Washington Street, near the MBTA bus stop. As he waited there, surveillance officers approached Mr. Rahim with their weapons holstered. Mr. Rahim had placed a call on his cellular telephone, speaking first with a brother and then to his father. Mr. Rahim was speaking to his father as the surveillance officers approached him. That conversation was recorded, and the recording captured much of the ensuing confrontation with the involved task force officers. Mr. Rahim began the conversation by stating to his brother that “unfortunately, you will not be seeing me again.” Shortly thereafter, the closest task force officer (who will be referred to hereinafter as “BPD-1”) walked to within a few feet of Mr. Rahim.
As he approached Mr. Rahim, with his weapon holstered and his hands raised above his head displaying his badge in his left hand, BPD-1 identified himself as a police officer. When BPD-1 asked Mr. Rahim to put his hands in the air, Mr. Rahim responded “do I know you?” Mr. Rahim then drew the 13-inch Ontario Knife Company Model SP6 Fighting Knife from a sheath he was carrying in his waist area. In response, BPD-1 and the other approaching task force officers drew their guns and ordered Mr. Rahim to drop the knife. Mr. Rahim refused to drop his weapon and began to advance on the officers. The task force officers continued to shout commands to Mr. Rahim, ordering him repeatedly to drop the knife. Task force officers backed away from Mr. Rahim as he advanced on them with his knife in his hand. The task force officers backed away approximately 48 feet, essentially the entire distance of the parking lot from Washington Street to the first set of raised barriers in front of the CVS pharmacy. As he advanced on the task force officers, and apparently in response to their orders to him to drop the knife he was brandishing, Mr. Rahim repeatedly shouted back “you drop yours” and finally “why don’t you shoot me.”

At this point, one of the task force agents was backed up against the curb. Concerned for his safety and that of members of the public in the various establishments in the vicinity, BPD-1 fired a single round towards the center of Mr. Rahim’s torso. A second task force officer (who will be referred to hereinafter as “FBI-1”) fired two additional rounds. All three rounds struck Mr. Rahim, who collapsed, still holding the knife in his hand. Task force agents then contacted Boston Emergency Medical Services and kicked the knife away from Mr. Rahim.

Completed Conley report (1.1M PDF).