Raleigh police officers are seen in home surveillance footage raiding the home of Amir Abboud in 2021. (Screenshot courtesy of Abboud’s lawyers)
A judge in North Carolina said Raleigh police don’t have to release body camera video to the general public of a raid with guns drawn at a wrong house that left a husband, his then-pregnant wife and 11-month-old son traumatized.
In his decision, Wake County Superior Court Judge Matthew Houston noted the delay between the 2021 raid at Amir Abboud’s home and the hearing this week. The judge said that even though the plaintiffs allege something noteworthy about the underlying circumstance of the warrant, the execution of the warrant itself was not noteworthy. Abboud and his lawyers received the video but sought its release to the general public “for purposes of emotional recovery, accountability, transparency, and policy advocacy.”
Abboud’s lawyers said they were shocked.
“We think it’s clear that there is a compelling public interest in this matter,” the lawyers from Emancipate North Carolina, an advocacy group that opposes mass incarceration, said in a statement. “At least 10 personnel from media outlets were present during the hearing, and numerous outlets have been reporting on the issue. We believe this to be a blow to transparency and accountability to the public.”
Media representatives for Raleigh declined to comment.
Court documents spell out how it all happened on April 7, 2021, when Abboud returned home from work to his then-pregnant wife and their 11-month-old son.
Abboud was making coffee when Raleigh Police Department officers in military-style gear executing a “Quick Knock” warrant busted open the front door with a battering ram, pointing their AR-style rifles at the couple and their screaming 11-month-old son, the lawsuit alleges. The couple was not suspected of criminal activity — the raid was based on “erroneous police work” and a case of mistaken identity, court documents said.
Officers handcuffed Abboud and separated him from his family, taking him outside for questioning, the lawsuit alleges.
A State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) agent repeatedly asked Abboud about a man named “Abdullah.” The agent showed Abboud a picture on his phone of an Arab man who bore little resemblance to him, court documents said.
The agent zoomed in and out on the picture several times. Abboud was disoriented and confused, then realized the agent was referring to his neighbor, who was of the same build and race as Abboud but looked nothing like him, the lawsuit alleges.
Abboud told the agent he had only spoken to his neighbor once. Yet, the agent insisted he had some relationship with his neighbor and had been seen coming in and out of his house multiple times, despite Abboud’s denial, court documents said.
Then, suddenly, the agent told Abboud he needed to speak with his supervisor before he and the other agents quickly left, the lawsuit alleges.
Abboud later saw the warrant, which listed his address but had his neighbor’s name as the warranted individual, according to court documents.
Abboud paid for the damages to his home after the police department refused to pay, saying the damage was done during a search authorized by a valid search warrant, the lawsuit alleges.
The memory of that day for the Abbouds remains.
“My wife is still … afraid something like that is going to happen again,” Abboud told local NBC affiliate WRAL.
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