An inquest has begun into the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Sayed Faisal by a Cambridge police officer last month, according to a press release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan on Thursday. Ryan requested the independent investigation by a judge last month, a move that family members and local officials hope will offer clarity and transparency.
Faisal was a 20-year-old UMass Boston student and Cambridge resident, who appeared to be having a mental health crisis when he was killed on Jan. 4. He allegedly approached officers with a knife and was shot.
Barbara Dougan, legal director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is representing Faisal's family and said the family welcomes the inquest. Unlike a grand jury investigation, family members — and officers involved in the shooting — can be present for the process. Judges can summon witnesses and examine relevant documents, often in coordination with the district attorney. Inquests typically take several months to conclude, after which the district attorney reviews the judge’s report and decides whether to pursue charges or not.
“It’s going to be a process that's going to play out, a long-haul process that we're going to need all the support they can get,” Dougan said. “I guess if there's any goal, it’s not only to get justice for their son, but to prevent any other family from going through something like this.”
In Massachusetts, all officer-involved shootings are investigated by county district attorneys. Ryan’s office has made it a practice of requesting inquests into fatal police shootings in Middlesex County since 2018.
The killing of Faisal by Cambridge police stirred a strong community response, reported protests in Bangladesh and an ongoing response from the city’s government.
“It’s a very frustrating thing that [the inquest] is going to take a couple of months,” said Cambridge City Councilor Burhan Azeem. “There’s a lot of frustrations in the community that this has happened, and the police report and other things are not yet public. ... But all of the evidence, everything that people want to see, will be public at the end of the day. And I think that what is good and bad about our legal process is that we are very, very thorough. And so it takes a long time.”
Also unlike a grand jury, at the end of an inquest, a detailed report and full transcript of the proceedings are made public.
“An inquest is far more independent and leads to more transparency after the fact,” Dougan said. “I mean, during the investigation stage of the inquest, it's all closed to the public, but after the fact a report is made public. So there's more transparency, more independence, hopefully more accountability.”
Azeem outlined responses the city is taking, including the recent announcement of implementing a body camera program for police and alternative responses to emergency calls that involve people in a mental health crisis.
“We’re also not waiting for the monthslong inquest process to conclude,” Azeem said. “I personally don't use the word ‘tragic’ because it makes it seem as though there's nothing you could have done. And I do think that there are things that we can do and we are doing.”
Cambridge police spokesperson Jeremy Warnick told GBH News that the department has conducted a number of recent trainings. One in December 2022, the month before Faisal’s killing, was “designed to provide officers with more response options to help them de-escalate incidents” involving mental health crises. He highlighted that officers regularly receive training on issues such as domestic violence, elder abuse and LGBTQ cultural competency.
“Our officers are trained and prepared to handle the evolving demands placed on them,” Warnick said in an email. “There are a number of noteworthy trainings that CPD has been at the forefront of across the region and country.”
Warnick said regular training programs also included emphases on veterans and PTSD, fair and impartial policing and management of aggressive behavior.
Azeem added that the city is exploring more non-lethal response options for police, including Tasers, which he says are currently not used by the department.
“We are also looking at it in a different aspect as well, which is: how can we use increased mental health resources?” Azeem said. “You know, police perhaps should not be the first line of defense for a mental health call. And if we can prevent these calls from even happening in the first place, that would be wonderful.”
Dougan said Faisal’s family is gratified that steps are being taken to decrease the likelihood of a similar deadly outcome with Cambridge police for someone in crisis. But, she added, that’s not their focus.
“We’re not going to step in front of those folks who've already been working on this issue for years,” Dougan said, “[and] the family is not paying attention to body camera policies at this point. Other people are, which is good and we’re glad they are. But they’re just still trying to get through each day with this gaping hole in their lives, which is the loss of their only child.”
